Sunda
by VexVulpes
Summary: A misunderstanding leads to Lucas learning more about Ness than anyone thought possible. Written for stress relief, T for language, contains Ness/Lucas in the future. Don't expect regular updates since it's me we're talking about here.
1. Chapter 1

It's safe to say I was having a bad day. Woke up too damn early, found out I missed a homework assignment, completely bombed a test, almost missed another test, bored out of my skull, nothing to snack on... I'm surprised I hadn't broken down crying.

So... I'm putting a recent new favorite character through some torture. The character? Ness. And due to over dosing on Super Smash Bros fics, this is going to take place in the Smash Universe. Now, I was introduced to video games with the GameCube and was only ever given Sonic, Pokemon, Zelda, and at one point Pikmin to play with. So any side characters will mostly come from these games. Sorry Mario fans, but I've never played the Mario games (except for a round or two of Mario Kart 64), so Mario and friends will rarely appear. Same goes for Star Fox, Kirby, and Metroid. Snake too.

Since this is a SSB fic, some cliches are used, such as Smash Mansion, Ness and Lucas being roommates, and the way most people have Pokemon speak (ie, ("Here is a sample.")). It seems to be the norm, so I'll go along with it.

I'm not sure how long this will be, what the plot is, or if I'll even continue this. It will have EarthBound and Mother 3 spoilers. And Ness/Lucas. What can I say, the couple grows on you. Other series spoilers, especially Sonic (love the character, hate the fans), are inevitable.

Also, this Ness has an accent. I wanted to play with the idea since The Runaway Guys made fun of him for it in their SSBB LP. I know it's officially Japanese, but my mind went wild further butchering Ness' speech after listening to his attacks and coming up with more ideas for speech quirks. So if anyone asks, it's an Eagleland accent, possibly hailing from Onett or Podunk (I kind of like the idea of Ness moving to Onett from somewhere else). I'll just say right now that while most people use "PK Cross" or "PK Pulse" for "PK Flash", I'll be using "PK Foss" (rhymes with 'Boss'). See if you can work out his speech quirks after a few chapters. It could be fun. Maybe.

Final note, this Ness also houses another surprise. I won't spoil it though.

Everything belongs to Nintendo. Except for Sonic, who belongs to Sega. And Snake, who belongs to Konami (if I'm not mistaken).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Sorry for the long intro, but it seemed a bit necessary for some stress relief.

* * *

Somewhere, far away, in a universe created through unknown means and for unknown reasons, a fight was well under way.

Team Battle, Red vs Blue, with all items on and five lives for each fighter. The stage had been decided on randomly and settled on a large city called New Pork, with a great many platforms which bore the symbol of a round pig snout. On one of the platforms roamed a pink beast with a mouth full of sharp teeth, eager to one hit KO anyone foolish enough to get in it's path and known simply as the Ultimate Chimera.

The fighters knew better than to approach however. They kept their distance, currently battling on the platforms above.

Lucas Locke, a timid blonde in a orange and yellow shirt, dodged an attack from his opponent, an elfish young man in green wielding a sword. The man, Link, had an advantage, having been in this world since its beginning, but Lucas knew that he had a horrible recovery if he fell off the edge. The strategy therefore was to manage to knock him beyond his recovery distance, though this was no easy task when facing the Hero of Time.

On another platform, a raven haired boy in a red cap readied his baseball bat as a ball of blue charged at him from the air. At the last second however, the ball uncurled in a humanoid blue hedgehog, who landed and ducked as the bat swung inches above his head. Sonic the Hedgehog smirked as the capped boy, Ness Ofdenson, swore under his breath and aimed a kick at the capped one's chest, knocking him off the platform and to the waiting beast below. Before he could meet his doom however Ness inhaled, concentrating his psionic powers.

"PK Sunda!"

A trail of purple electricity snaked its way from Ness and circled around him, aiming for his feet. Once contact was made, the boy was sent sky rocketing upwards, where he grabbed the ledge and hoisted himself up. Onyx eyes narrowed as the hedgehog taunted and he resisted the urge to rush at him. Sonic was a tricky foe, using the fact that most of his moves looked very similar to psyche out his opponents and give him an edge. On top of that, he was the fastest fighter here, able to dish out lightning fast punches and kicks. The speed could be his downfall though, as he easily ran off small platforms if he wasn't careful.

A yell sounded as someone fell and seconds later Lucas landed next to Ness, panting from his battle with Link. In a few seconds, Link would return via a teleportation platform, still having two more lives to go, but for now the blonde could relax. "How you doing, Ness?"

"Ok." This doubled as a taunt, a smirk gracing the capped boy's face as he made eye contact with his opponent. He and the hedgehog were currently tied at one life, and neither was going down easily. Lucas meanwhile had three lives and had less pressure on him.

Movement to the right caught his eye and the blonde quickly dodged as Link attacked, glowing slightly in mercy invincibility. This would last for roughly ten seconds, so Lucas had no choice but to run for now and wait for it to wear off. Unfortunately, he tripped and fell off the platform, where the Ultimate Chimera grinned and attacked. Bad luck was a pain during battles, but getting angry over it solved nothing. Once he respawned, he ran after Link and the fight moved on.

Ness meanwhile hurriedly leapt in the air as Sonic spun on the ground, being careful to stay on the platform while moving in a figure eight path. As long as he was spinning, it would be unsafe to land and Ness had no choice but to use his second jump to stay safely in the air. Once the hedgehog stopped spinning, Ness aimed his foot and stomped down hard, knocking Sonic over onto another platform. With the speedster temporarily stunned, the psychic boy inhaled once more, focusing his power and summoning a bright green light. "PK Foss!"

The attack was slow however and Sonic easily dodged, leaping over Ness and back onto the platform, where he proceeded to run in place. "You're too slow!"

"Sut up!" the capped boy snapped, catching his opponent off guard with his yoyo. Sonic grabbed the edge and hurriedly kicked back up, his foot connecting with Ness and sending him to the very edge of the platform. "PK Fiya!"

Flames shot out at the hedgehog, who barely managed to dodge. At the same time, Lucas and Link brought their fight to under them, the Ultimate Chimera having left for now after having its fun. The swordsman swung his sword at the blonde's side, missing at the last second as the other quickly leapt back. Seeming to connect minds as one, both psychic boys concentrated.

"PK Thunder!"

"PK Sunda!"

Twin lightning trails appeared and hit their conjurers, who crashed into their respective opponents. While Sonic managed to stay on the stage, both Lucas and Link fell off, their last lives spent. Now it was only Ness and Sonic, with only one successful hit needed to claim victory for each.

"You may as well give up, kid," Sonic stated, wagging his finger. Another taunt. He seemed full of them today. "I'm gonna win this thing."

"You wiss!" Ness retorted, swinging his bat. Not expecting the sudden attack, the hedgehog was sent flying. Hurriedly he stomped and landed hard two platforms away. Not wasting any time, Ness jumped towards him, aiming with his hands.

"PK Fiya!"

However, he wasn't the only one to speak. The capped boy started slightly as the speedster spoke with him, a cocky grin forming on his face. "What?"

A fist clenched. "Don' do saht!"

"Do what?" Sonic asked, feigning innocence. No doubt he was resorting to psyching his opponent out. The fight had been dragging on for a while and both fighters were wearing out. Ness responded by rushing at the other, swinging his bat as hard as he could. He hadn't aimed well however and the hedgehog easily dodged, kicking him in the chest and down to a lower platform.

Once he landed, the boy inhaled, summoning green light. "PK-"

"-Foss!" Again Ness started, flinching slightly as Sonic interrupted him by saying what he was going to say. His opponent didn't fail to notice, smirking down from his perch above. "Watt? Don' like othas mockin yo'a occent?"

Ness yelled and leapt up, proving the other right by smacking him as hard as he could with his baseball bat. The attack hadn't been expected and Sonic yelled as he was sent flying out of bounds, losing his last life.

"The winner is... Red Team!"

The victor remained quiet, staring at his feet.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Where's Ness?"

Lucas paused in the middle of taking a bite of omelet, blue eyes blinking before looking over to his right. The speaker, a boy around his age named Red, remained silent after his question, waiting patiently for an answer. Sighing, the blonde scooped his forkful of egg into his mouth with a shrug. "Still in our room. He's been acting strange since our team battle."

"Any idea why?" the other boy asked, taking a seat on Lucas' right. Red set his plate down and took a bite of his hamburger, swallowing before continuing. "I mean, you two won the match, right?"

"Yeah..."

"And you were his partner this time. Usually when you two win, he practically dances around the house and boasts about how you two make a great team and nothing can beat you."

The faintest of blushes stained Lucas' cheeks as he humbly smiled. "He did most of the work... I-I think he's still a bit giddy over the fact he's not the only PSI user here anymore." Though the fact the capped boy always praised and encouraged the blonde did touch him. Lucas was still surprised at how quickly he and the veteran fighter had become good friends. No doubt being psychic helped the process, but Ness' friendly demeanor and easy acceptance didn't hurt either.

Red took another bite of his burger. "The fact is, he's not acting like he should. You sure you don't know why?"

Lucas opened his mouth to reply, but found himself interrupted. "About that..."

The two friends turned to the newest arrival, a younger cat eyed version of Link. Setting a plate with a sandwich down, the child known as Toon Link took a seat on Lucas' left, his black eyes glancing around before he lowered his voice and spoke again. "I passed by Link talking with Sonic earlier. Apparently Ness is... sensitive about his accent."

"Wait, so Ness is acting weird because of Sonic parroting him?" Red asked, quirking an eyebrow. Toon nodded and took a bite out of his sandwich as the older boy scowled. "You sure? I mean, I know his accent's pretty thick, but he doesn't let it stop him from talking up a storm."

"He didn't really speak much at the beginning." The three newest fighters looked up as one, realizing that their discussion had drawn the attention of Toon's older version. The Hylian continued, unphased by the stares. "Think it had to do with the fact that of everyone who spoke English there, he was the least understandable. Mario and Luigi ended up talking to him about it, since they have accents too, and I thought he got over it."

"But he obviously didn't," Red pointed out, finishing the last of his burger. "Otherwise he wouldn't be hiding out in his room."

The older swordsman shrugged. "Well no one's ever openly mocked him for it. I'm willing to bet our friend in red told Ness that no one was going to make fun of his accent and the spiny bastard proved him wrong."

"D-Does Sonic at least feel bad?" Lucas asked, poking at his omelet. His appetite had suddenly failed him, replaced by the desire to help his friend and pay him back for everything he had done for him.

"As far as I can tell, he does." The blonde psychic wasn't too surprised to hear this. After all, while the hedgehog was cocky and a bit arrogant at times, he wasn't a bad person and would never intentionally hurt someone. Lucas had a feeling that if Sonic had known about this outcome before hand, he never would have copied Ness' speech in the first place. "I told him he should apologize, so he's probably at your room."

"Ah." Finished with his half eaten omelet, Lucas stood up and picked up his plate. "I'm going to go get Ness some dinner." He doubted Ness would want to come down for the rest of the night. And the least he could do to get his capped friend out of his gloomy mood was to bring him his favorite meal. "I'll see you guys later."

"Oh, Lucas?"

The boy paused, glancing at Link. "Yeah?"

"Good job today."

A smile. "Thanks."


	2. Chapter 2

I'm bored right now. So I figured I'd type out another chapter for the hell of it. Besides, it's so windy outside right now that I nearly got blown away and couldn't open the door to get inside.

This chapter has fluff in it. Why? Well, I'm in the mood for something fluffy. There may be some spoilers coming up, so bare in mind unless you've either played the games or don't mind spoilers that much.

I don't own anything. If I did, Raz from Psychonauts would be a playable character in Brawl, as well as the Masked Man from Mother 3.

* * *

The plate was warm in his hands as he made his way down the hallway to his and Ness' shared room. This, of course, was the result of the steak that lay in its center, freshly grilled to a medium rare. Lucas had had to cook the meal himself, the chef of the night having no clue how to make it to Ness' liking; while ROB meant well, the blonde knew that the slab of meat had to be perfect if it was to cheer up the downed psychic.

He sighed before biting his lip. Ness had never told him how much his accent bothered him. Then again, Ness hadn't told him anything that could make the capped boy look weak. While most would see it as pride or an over inflated ego, Lucas had long ago realized that Ness didn't want to look weak to someone who looked up to and admired him. Indeed, Lucas felt that part of this was a result of him and Ness meeting for the first time during the Subspace Emissary incident. Lucas had been weak and timid, and Ness had made up for it with strength and courage, saving the blonde from both the Porky statue and Porky himself.

Since then, Ness had always acted confident and, dare Lucas say, protective of his shier friend. In a way they were polar opposites, and sometimes the capped boy reminded him of...

Blue eyes shimmered slightly as he shook away the thought, turning the corner and nearly colliding with someone. After making sure the steak was fine Lucas glanced at the other person and blinked upon seeing Sonic. "S-Sorry..."

The hedgehog shook his head, holding a finger up as his other hand rested on his hip. "No, my bad. Didn't look where I was running." Green eyes opened and looked the blonde in the face before darting to the side, Sonic's perked triangular ears drooping slightly. "Er, he wouldn't answer when I tried apologizing. Think you could, uh, send him my apology for me? Tell him I was only teasing?"

Lucas couldn't help but give a small smile. Just as he had suspected, the speedster hadn't meant to hurt anyone. "Sure. Just... don't do it again, ok?"

Sonic's ears resumed their perked position as he grinned, flashing a thumbs up. "Promise." Satisfied he then took off down the hall, leaving Lucas to continue to the door of his room. Once there, he held the plate in one hand while knocking softly.

"Ness?"

Silence greeted him. Deciding that Ness probably wasn't going to open the door anytime soon the blonde fished in his pocket for his key and let himself in.

The room was dark, the lights turned off and the curtains closed to block out the moonlight. Two beds were barely visible in the darkness, the one furthest from the door sporting a shadowed bulge on its center. Making his way towards the farther bed, Lucas set the plate down as quietly as he could and reached out to touch what he figured was Ness' shoulder. At the last minute he stopped however, pulling his hand back awkwardly. "N-Ness?"

No response. Not that Lucas had expected one; when he got in a similar mood, usually when remembering his mother or... twin, Lucas would remain still and quiet no matter how much Ness tried to get his attention. The difference though was that Ness knew what was wrong. After all, Lucas had had no problem telling the other what had happened to him or what made him scared or hurt. With Ness, it was ok to be weak or unsure sometimes.

Now the roles were reversed and Lucas had no clue what to do.

He swallowed, rubbing an arm. "Sonic... Sonic says that he's sorry." No reply. "He won't do it again. He promised. He, er, didn't mean to hurt you." Still no reply. "I made you your favorite steak. Since, you know, you missed dinner." More silence.

The fact that both of them were psychic only made things worse. Psychics sensed and were strongly influenced by emotions. Lucas could actually feel the sadness and sorrow Ness was feeling, the pain of betrayal and shattered trust. And it hurt. It crept into Lucas' own feelings and made him upset. Given long enough, the negative emotions would cycle between the two PSI users and feed itself in an endless loop.

The blonde hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his thumbs. "If-If it's about your accent, I... I kind of like it."

Movement at last. The bed shifted slightly before stopping and Lucas could feel eyes on his back, informing him that Ness had rolled over. "... Watt?" Quiet and somewhat shaky, but at least he had spoken.

"I-I like it. It's different. It's..." He trailed off, searching for the words to describe it and failing. "Well... It's Ness. It's how you speak. How I'm used to you speaking."

Silence before the bed shifted again. A glance to the side confirmed that Ness was now sitting next to him with his legs crossed. After a while, the capped boy finally spoke. "You... You don' sink it's..." The question died, though Lucas managed to catch the gist of it and shook his head.

"No. It's you." He smiled, in a way he hoped was reassuring. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

The other boy remained quiet, most likely thinking this over. "You... don' sink I'm... 'ahd to undastand?"

"Sometimes, but not always. Besides, it's easy to know what someone means if you know them well."

"... Did you 'eally make me steak?"

"On the nightstand." The bed shifted and with a click a lamp was turned on, giving the room a soft glow and revealing the blue blanket Lucas was sitting on. The blonde watched as Ness cut a small bit of steak and chewed, quickening his pace as his hunger made itself known. The capped boy was still a bit shaky, his eyes slightly red, and Lucas couldn't help but pity him. He looked back down at his thumbs. "You... uh, never told me you were sensitive about your accent."

Ness swallowed the last of the meat and set his dish to the side. "It neva 'eally... came ub."

"Oh."

"A-And I didn' wanna wo'wee you. I mean... well, you 'ave enough to deal wiss. And it's nahsin' 'uge o'a anysin'." He laughed, scratching the back of his neck. Lucas couldn't help but sigh and give him a look.

"Stop that."

Onyx eyes blinked. "Stop watt?"

"This. Acting like you're the strongest thing alive." Lucas' voice failed him though and he averted his gaze. Being assertive wasn't one of his strong points. "You, well, uh, y-you always say that everyone has their weak moments... B-But you never admit when you're upset. You..." He sighed heavily, realizing he was probably getting nowhere with the other. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know..." Something in his voice was hesitant though. After a few minutes, Ness suddenly grabbed Lucas' hand. "Lucas?"

The blonde stared at Ness in surprise, feeling his face heat up. "Y-Yeah?"

"If... If I'm like... sat again... You can chee'a me ub wiss... a chick."

"A... chick?" Ness nodded, his own face stained pink in what could only be embarrassment. The sight was odd, but Lucas found that he liked it. "What, uh, do you mean by chick?"

"You know, um..." The blush deepened as the capped boy made a 'peep' sound, flapping his hands slightly as if to imitating wings flapping. "Baby chickens. Say... make me 'abby."

Lucas merely blinked, still registering what he had heard. He wouldn't have placed Ness' favorite animal as a baby chicken of all things. Maybe a lion or some other animal symbolizing courage and strength, but never a chick. Slowly though, he smiled, giving Ness' hand a squeeze. "I'll keep that in mind, ok?" As the words left his mouth though he scowled, dropping the hand. "Wait, where am I going to find a baby chicken in Smash Mansion?"

Ness grinned nervously, scratching his neck again. "S-Saya's always sose chicken enemies in Sub'ace..."

"Subspace? !"

"Sink saya called Tickens. 'ave chicks in sem, 'ight?"

"Ness!" the blonde whined, biting his lip. The mere mention of the word was tainted with bad memories that still made the timid boy shudder. Being chased by the invincible Porky statue... Watching as Ness threw himself in front of Lucas as Wario fired a trophifying gun... Charging into Subspace itself and being defeated so easily by the being known as Taboo... If Ness hadn't have found his trophy, he'd have been lost in Subspace forever.

Wait. "Ness, Subspace is gone, remember?"

"Sen waya do seh Tickens come f'om?"

"They left with Subspace."

"Nuh uh! Saya still awound."

"Where?"

Ness muttered under his breath in thought, eyes narrowing as he tried to remember. With a snap of his fingers, he then grinned at Lucas. "'uined Zoo!"

While Subspace had frightened the blonde earlier, the mention of the Ruined Zoo caused him to go pale in terror. "R-R-Ruined Zoo?" The place where he had been chased by the Porky Statue, found out the cause of his misfortunes had been freed from the Absolutely Safe Capsule, and on top of that had witness Ness selflessly sacrifice himself? He couldn't help but whimper, the memory of Ness' trophy landing lifelessly at his feet fresh in his mind, followed by Wario's laughing in the trophy's face...

As if reading his mind (though with them being psychic, that wasn't unlikely), Ness hurriedly continued talking. "S-Saya's otha blaces too! Um... Maybe the pain... fo'est... lake sore... wilds... gacie'a peak... Lot's of paces! 'uined Zoo's just closest."

Closest, however, almost meant more convenient, though Ness didn't add that obvious bit. Lucas shook his head before managing a weak smile, blue eyes focused entirely on his friend. "A-Alright then... But only because it's you! And- And only if you really need a... chick."

Ness' smile was enough to chase away any doubts the blonde had.


	3. Chapter 3

Insomnia sucks. It really does. I got to bed at around midnight on Wednesday, wake up at 3 am, then couldn't get back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. So I decided hey, what the hell, I'll check my email.

Lo and behold, I got a review from someone called miscat:

_aww... so cute. the accents not that hard to understand. thats nessu for you; acts tough, but is very sweet and compassionate. say, in a later chapie, can lucas and nessu go meditate with lucario and some others?thanks. until next time,_

_- a fellow mother fan_

Well... since this fic has no exact plot and Lucario happens to be from a series franchise I've played... Sure, why not? And I will say now that while he's a pokemon, he speaks telepathically. Therefore, his way of talking is not in parentheses, but italicized unless he is speaking out loud (which he usually doesn't). On top of that, quotation marks means he is talking to everyone. A lack of quotation marks means he's talking to only one person.

Using another cliche here. The 'telepathy through touching foreheads' one. It's cute and actually makes a lot of sense, since it's like a direct link to the brain.

Also, you can disregard the surprise about this Ness, as I may not use it. It involves a bit of a crack theory between me and a friend, one that may be too hard to play out seriously (as this fic isn't supposed to be crack). If anyone is curious and really wants to know, they can PM me. Who knows, maybe I'll use it in a different story.

As a final note, I noticed what you could call a... odd coincidence in this Ness' accent. It hasn't been shown yet (actually, to be honest I screwed up when Ness said 'peak' in the last chapter, though that's changed now), but when a word begins with a lone 'P', he's able to pronounce it. However, he cannot pronounce the 'R' in words. Now, what's the difference between 'Pokey' and 'Porky'?

... I'll be honest, this puts me in a bit of a Ness/Pokey (I like foe yay and onesided pairings) angst mood. So while miscat gets their wish, this chapter will also have some angsty Ness and a glimpse of Ness and Pokey's relationship... and how it ended. It even includes a small shout out to Mother 1, though it's subtle.

I don't own anything. Ninten would be in SSB as well as the two I mentioned in the last chapter. Instead of tripping, he'd have brief fits of asthma and use an inhaler to recover.

* * *

"Weya... best fends, 'ight?"

The question admittedly caught Lucas off guard. They had been walking to Lucario and Sonic's room so that Ness could officially accept the hedgehog's apology when the question had come out of nowhere. The blonde glanced at the capped boy and couldn't help but frown at the unreadable and distant look in his onyx eyes.

While the talk last night had helped, it must have awoken something in Ness. Sour memories of long ago, judging by how lost in thought he had been all morning and his... all over the place emotions. Lucas couldn't quite place how exactly Ness was feeling right now and it honestly bothered him. Especially since one of the emotions swirling in his friend felt like the hurt of betrayal he'd sensed last night.

He'd gotten over the accent thing, right? It seemed like it, anyway. If any of the other fighters talked to him, he talked back without hesitation. He had even joked with Red a bit during lunch, right before talking to the pokemon trainer about some tips he could use in battle. But when Red had left... When it was only Ness and Lucas... The smiles vanished and the voice died, eyes focused somewhere that wasn't the present.

Ness had gone to take care of his plate when a bipedal canine-like being had walked up to Lucas and invited the two PSI users to meditate with him. Though the pokemon, known as Lucario, was not a psychic type, his ability to sense another's aura meant he had some empathic and telepathic abilities. He had apparently sensed the turmoil of emotions within Ness and informed Lucas that if he were to battle the capped boy later that afternoon, he could not proceed with the knowledge that he was too conflicted to battle.

Lucas, of course, hadn't told Ness the last part when informing him of Lucario's invitation. The fact that Sonic was the pokemon's roommate sealed the deal, as Ness wanted to show Sonic all was forgiven.

"Lucas?"

Oh. Right. Ness had asked a question.

"Of- Of course we're best friends. Why wouldn't we be?"

Ness didn't answer, once again staring into the distance. For a brief moment, Lucas wondered if the question was not actually aimed at him, but at someone else. But if not him, then who? Before he could clarify what Ness meant, they found themselves at Sonic and Lucario's room, the door open to show they were expected. Inside, the fighting-type was already sitting in the center of the floor, his hyper roommate playing some kind of racing game with the volume muted.

"Uh... H-Hi?"

_"Come in,"_ Lucario stated telepathically, eyes closed in concentration. The blonde nudged his capped friend in and quietly shut the door, awkwardly rubbing an arm. Slowly, one of the pokemon's red eyes opened and settled on the two. _"There is no need to be uncomfortable. You are my guests."_

"Right..." Lucas muttered, glancing at Ness. The other psychic was currently watching Sonic play his game, the two talking about something he couldn't make out. Slipping off his shoes, Lucas then sat next to Lucario, who had closed his eye again.

_"Relax. Allow your emotions to settle and your mind to empty."_

He did as he was told, closing his eyes as well. Suddenly a laugh pierced the quiet of the room, a whine shortly after.

"Shut up Ness! I meant to do that!"

"Yo'a too s'ow!"

"Hey! That's my line!"

_"Come and join us, Ness. Sonic."_

While Lucas had expected the speedster to refuse, he was surprised when Sonic walked over with Ness, the two sitting so that everyone who was in the room were now in a circle. Once again the room fell silent, the only sound coming from four separate breathing rates that slowly became one. A blue eye opened as the blonde stole a peek at Ness, trying to determine if Lucario's meditation was having any effect. He looked calm... yet the storm of barely concealed emotions was still there.

_Lucas._

He paused before focusing his thoughts, coming to the conclusion that Lucario was only speaking to him._ Yeah?_

_Do not focus your thoughts on Ness. While he is conflicted now, the meditation will allow him to relax and sort through his thoughts and feelings._

_But what's bothering him? He won't tell me..._

_Patience. He will tell you when he is ready. For now, focus on your own mind. Calm your own emotions._

With a sigh, the blonde obeyed, once again closing his eyes. He listened to his own breath, noting how long he inhaled, how long he exhaled, how the rhythm would repeat, steadily growing slower. Time passed and he imagined he was floating weightlessly in an abyss, with nothing to worry about, no duties or plans. Nothing but a tranquil calm.

Suddenly, there was a pressure on his hand and the mood shifted. Clouds swirled and darkened, rumbling ominously. Weight returned and rapidly grew stronger, until he found himself unable to move at all. As the calm shattered, a panic took its place, spreading out and smothering Lucas until his heart was racing and he couldn't breath. Under the pounding of his heart, he thought he could hear a desperate cry, pleading words that reached his ears, but failed to make themselves clear.

And then he was back in Lucario's room, panting as he tried to make any sense out of what had happened. The canine pokemon seemed oblivious, not having changed his position at all. Sonic had vanished completely, no doubt having run off in boredom. Lucas turned in Ness direction and immediately felt his body go tense.

The other PSI user was pale, eyes clenched shut as he held Lucas' hand in a death grip. His entire body trembled and a closer inspection revealed that the capped boy was biting his lip so hard that he had pierced the skin, a bead of blood forming around the embedded. As if sensing his friend's gaze, Ness looked directly at him and opened his mouth as if to say something, closing it at the last second and looking away. Lucas realized that Ness had been the one to ruin his meditation, having fallen into a panicked state at some point and reaching out desperately for comfort.

"Ness?"

"I-I... I'm sah'ee... I just..." Words failed and without warning Ness moved closer, leaning forward and resting his forehead against the blonde's. The troubled psychic intended to use telepathy to convey what couldn't be said, merging their minds as one to share thoughts, memories, dreams, nightmares. Through Ness' eyes, Lucas found himself in a moderately sized city, skipping and dancing down a sidewalk.

"Come on! Huh'ee up!"

"Slow down, Ness!"

That voice. He knew that voice. The voice of the one who had caused so much pain, grief, destruction, death... A voice that sent chills down his spine despite how childish it sounded in the memory. He wanted nothing more than to pull away, but he found himself trapped, held in place by the other boy's need for him to see this. Regardless, he mentally cringed as Ness turned and faced the one who had ruined his life.

"If we don' huh'ee, we'll miss it!"

"It's just the stupid police putting up another stupid barricade..."

"Got nahsin' betta to do." Lucas felt Ness smile widely, watched as the distance closed and he grabbed the overweight blonde's hand. "So let's waste time togesa. Weya fends, 'ight?"

The other boy's face grew slightly pinker. "Yeah. Sure."

Suddenly the scene shifted, memories passing like picture slides. A wagon racing down a hill. Action figures marching along a fence. The crack of a bat hitting a ball. Laughter. Hushed and excited whispers. Heart pounding, face hot and flustered. Security and tranquility. Happiness and sheer bliss. Signs of a feeling Lucas knew well, his favorite thing in the world.

Love.

Sitting on a hill, staring down at the buildings below. He felt the wind ruffle Ness' uncovered hair, the cap held in his hand. There was movement beside him as the other boy, his friend, sat up.

"Hey Ness."

"Yeah, Pokey?"

"Why did you even bother talking to me when you moved here?"

"Watt?"

"Why'd you talk to me? I insulted you and told you to get lost. You saw how much of an outcast I am your first day at the school. I didn't even want to know your name. Why'd you keep pushing me until I gave up and hung out with you?"

Silence. Scowling, deep in thought. Finally he shrugged. "I don' know. I just so't ob felt like it."

"You... felt like it."

"Well... You gabe me a challenge. And... I wanted a fend. Peoble don' 'eally like me."

"What do you mean people don't like you? They love you! It's me people don't like."

He shook his head. "P'ehtendin'. Actin'. Sey act like sey like me... But sey don'. Feel... angwee. 'ostile. Don' want me a'ound."

His friend snorted. "You're probably just imagining things Ness. Besides, who cares about them? Having you around is, well, pretty cool."

"'eally?"

"Really."

"You'll... You'll neva 'ate me, 'ight?"

"We're best friends, right? Friends don't hate each other. So stop being so sad and be happy like you always are."

A smile. Once again the memory shifted, transitioning into another. He was in the same place, but the sky was choked with clouds, the air cold and chilling him to the bone. Tears flooding his vision, a knot in his throat and stomach. He could barely make out a figure in front of him, though the voice was painfully clear.

"You're not Ness!"

"Pokey, pease!"

"Shut up! Just shut up! You're not Ness! Ness can't do those things!"

"You said you wouldn' 'ate me! You said you'd listen!"

"Shut up!" Strong arms pushing against him. He lost his balance and landed hard on the ground, the much larger boy towering over him with fists clenched. Thunder rumbled, matching the tense atmosphere perfectly. The rain started just as the tears fell.

"I'm still me! So I can undastand animals! So sometimes sin's mobe a'ound me if I sink about it! So watt if I'm psychic! ?"

"My Ness isn't a freak!"

The words cut, the pain following the cry rendering him speechless. The other continued, oblivious or simply not caring.

"You're a freak! That's why people hate you! You know what psychics are in Eagleland? Abominations! My dad says so! He says freaks like you did something bad years ago and that you'll destroy everything! Everyone says it! Ness wouldn't do that! You're not Ness!"

Panting, glaring down at him. His face twisted into a sneer and he turned, walking off. Ness whimpered, lifting a hand, reaching out. "Don' go..." The other ignored him. Small hands clenched into fists as he called louder. "Pokey, don' leabe me!"

The hill faded and blue eyes blinked. Lucas slowly realized Ness' face was buried in his shoulder, the capped boy leaning heavily against him. With a sigh the blonde awkwardly wrapped his arms around his friend, rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort. "You're... having a bad week, huh?" As he expected, there was no response save a squeeze of the hand still in Ness' grasp.


	4. Chapter 4

miscat had a question for me in their last review:

_if pokey or porky was trapped in the absolute safety pod, how did he get out for brawl? your opinion?_

Hm... Let me think over this for a bit...

I honestly don't know. Maybe Taboo was able to free him? I'll add it to my list of crack theories to ponder over, which includes Vodka from Detective Conan being a grown up Ninten (Vodka's voice coming from Ninten's mouth equals sexy according to one of my friends), Ness being short for Vanessa (making him a girl, and yes this is the rejected surprise I mentioned before), Ness' dad being Charles Foster Ofdenson from Metalocalypse (hence his last name in this fic), and Claus being a part dog chimera (because the idea amuses me and dogs are loyal like **SPOILER** the Masked Man was to Porky). Expect an eventual fic using all these ideas eventually.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm in a good mood today. Which has been a rare thing for the past few weeks. Still, should embrace and enjoy it while I can. Anyway, I'll post my answer to this question in the next update, after I've thought over it from every angle and have a flawless theory. Meanwhile though, I'm in the mood for some fluffy nonsense. I've put Ness through a lot and he could do with a break. So let's torture Lucas instead!

Also, I'm finally including more people; the Kirby gang. Recently I've been watching Hoshi no Kaabii, or Kirby of the Stars. It's an adorable anime and, while I'm aware that the Kirby gang in SSBB is from the game series, I'd like to be a bit more unique. Hence I'll be using their anime counterparts. However, I won't be using King Dedede until I finish the series (I'm only on episode 32 of 100), as I'm sure he hits some serious character development or something.

So I'll end this author's note here and type while gnawing on a delicious gummy worm. As a final note here, I'm treating the Player as an entity of worship for Ness and Lucas. You know, since **SPOILER** the Player was the one to defeat Giygas in EarthBound after Paula prayed. And adds an interesting spin I think.

I do not own anything. If I did, Claus would have survived and hooked up with Kuroba Kaito from Magic Kaito. Because that has to be my favorite crossover couple along with Nny/Rudy and Kisshu/Zim. Yes, I'm weird.

* * *

Ness' mood had greatly improved after he had confided in Lucas. He had perked up minutes after the telepathy session and had even managed to give quite the fight to Lucario later that day. With the battle ending with a close victory for the canine pokemon, the capped boy was still in high spirits during dinner and had been nothing but smiles and laughs.

Lucas, however, had found himself troubled over what he had seen. What he had heard. What he had felt...

Ness had loved Porky.

There was no denying it. After all, Lucas was familiar with love. If there was one thing in the world that he adored more than anything, even a delicious fresh from the pan omelet, it was that wonderful warm feeling that embraced your heart when your cared so much for another. Sometimes, when he was little, he had wrapped his small arms around his mother's waist and simply sank into the feelings of loyalty and adoration he felt for her, his bliss escalating whenever she hugged him back or ran her fingers through his hair, showing that she too held the same feelings...

Love was powerful. It was probably the strongest emotion in existence. Even a child too young to fully understand the concept of love knew that what they felt was the ultimate truth, a great feeling that was perfect in every way. But it was also dangerous in a way. Rejection could break the strongest person. And death of a loved one was so traumatic it physically hurt.

Ness had loved Porky. And Porky had rejected him when the young psychic went to the one he loved for comfort. If Lucas had been in his position, the blonde would have never loved again.

Yet Ness continued to laugh and make friends, showering them with his love and trust. Looking at him now, grinning as he chatted with Red, it was hard to believe the memory he had trust the timid boy with had even happened. Or that the memory had been affecting him so badly this morning. Ness had an amazing ability to snap back from anything it seemed and Lucas couldn't help but be envious of him. He wished he could be strong like the other, for the other.

He had been though, hadn't he?

Yes. He had. He had been the one to ultimately snap Ness out of his depression over his accent. He had been the one to help Ness get over his sudden memories of Porky. Twice in the span of two days, he had been the strong one. An odd experience, but one that made him feel like he had accomplished something.

"Lucas!"

Blue eyes blinked as he was jerked out of his thoughts, realizing that Ness was leaning into his face. Instantly the blonde's face darkened in a blush, not used to his personal space being so blatantly invaded. "Y-Yeah Ness?"

A mischievousness grin spread across the capped boy's face, a sign that Lucas was not going to enjoy whatever he was going to say. "Weya goin' to expo'a seh items 'oom."

"What! ?"

"'ed wants to see seh legenda'ies betta, since you can' 'eally see sem well du'in' battles."

"Ness, we're not supposed to mess with items outside of bat-" Hands hurriedly covered his mouth as his voice grew louder and attracted unwanted attention. Once the eyes were gone, Ness removed his hands, clasping them in front of his chest and staring at Lucas with wide, onyx eyes. Oh dear Player, he was going to beg. Lucas was horrible at saying no when Ness begged.

"Pease Lucas? It's only sis once. Sen we'll neva do it again!"

"N-No!" He pushed the other boy back, biting his lip. He couldn't give in. He had to be assertive for once and stand his ground. "I won't do it!"

"I swea' by seh myste'ious fose sat is seh Payer we won' get caught!" Ness grabbed his hands, leaning forward again while pulling the blonde closer to him, their noses almost touching. He could practically smell the other's breath, sweet from an ice cream treat he'd consumed earlier. "Just sis one time? Pease Lucas? Fo' me?"

Lucas could hear his heart thudding in his ears as his friend pleaded, wild and erratic like a wound up animal. Oh Player, he was going to regret this. But how could he say no to such a desperate looking face, especially when it was so close...

"O-Ok..."

* * *

He never should have agreed to this.

For starters, it was a very stupid idea. No one was allowed to mess with items outside of battle except for the two Hands and Mario Mario, the unanimous leader of the veteran fighters. If he, Ness, and Red were caught, there was no telling what horrible punishment Master Hand would give them.

Second, he was responsible for getting the entire 'oppa'asun', as Ness had called it, started. The reason being that Ness was one hell of a heavy sleeper.

Lucas sighed heavily as their shared alarm clock went off at half an hour past midnight, hurriedly shutting it off to avoid waking up any other fighters before sitting up and running a hand through his hair. In the bed next to him Ness didn't even stir, sides rising and falling in a gentle rhythm indicating that, as usual, the shrill ringing had not jerked him out of his slumber. For a split second, the blonde debated just going back to sleep and claiming he'd forgotten to set the alarm.

If he did that though, he might upset his two friends. Not to mention that Red would probably go through with the plan anyway and possibly get caught. Unlike the psychics, he wasn't able to sense the minds of others. Shoulders slumping in silent defeat, Lucas quietly slid out of bed and softly shook the form bundled under blue blankets. "Ness. It's time."

"Nn... Fo' mo' minutes..."

"You said you wanted to leave after midnight. It's twelve-thirty. Wake up."

"Base Kin' yo'aself, T'acy..."

Blue eyes blinked in confusion. "Tacy? Oh! Tracy! No, uh, it's L-Lucas, Ness. Um..." Did the other boy think he was back home? Or maybe he was dreaming of home. Lucas shook his head and shook Ness again. "Come on, wake up already..."

All he got in response was an unintelligible mumble, the usually capped boy rolling so his back was now facing the blonde. This wasn't really a surprise to him. After all, there had been many days where Ness had to be poked and prodded for a morning fight. And when that didn't work... well, Lucas would have to get creative. With no other option, Lucas inhaled before sighing heavily once more and placing a hand on Ness' exposed neck. "I'm sorry but... PK Freeze!"

As the words left his mouth, the familiar cold sensation flowed through his body, gathering in the palm of his hand. His mind wandered back to before the tournament, back in a rejuvenated Tazamily Village, where his friend Kumatora had taught him the powers of ice, fire, thunder, and the stars...

A yelp snapped him out of his daydream, the other psychic before him jerking away from his touch and falling out of the bed with a rather hard thud. Lucas couldn't help but wince as a string of curses was let loose, sensing just how much the fall had hurt. "S-Sorry Ness!"

"Watt was sat fo'! ?"

"You-You wouldn't wake up and-and it's after midnight..."

"So you feezed my neck! ?"

"I've done it before! Besides, you're the one that wants to break a rule that could get us in deep trouble."

"Don' wo'wee, Lucas. We won' get caught" All anger was gonna now as Ness picked himself up, rubbing his head. Without the usually cap, his unkempt black hair was available for all to see and Lucas found that he couldn't take his eyes off it. Unlike the blonde, who spent time every morning styling his hair into its usual swirl, Ness never bothered to do anything with his hair and simply grabbed his cap and pulled it on. Yet despite the lack of care, the bedhead look suited him quite well. It looked really soft too, though this thought was something he would never tell the other boy.

A knock on the door suddenly made Lucas tense up, biting his lip nervously and glancing towards the sound. Ness however was unfazed as he grabbed his cap, walking over and opening it. Luckily for them, it was only Red and not a fighter wondering why they were up in the middle of the night. "You guys ready?"

"'eady!"

"As ready as I'll ever be..."

"Let's go sen!" Ness exclaimed, grabbing Lucas' hand and tugging him out of the room. The timid boy could feel his cheeks warm, heart racing as his friend led him towards their destination. He wasn't sure why his mouth was suddenly dry and his face was on fire. Maybe it was embarrassment over Ness being so clingy with Red around, though this wasn't the first time he and Ness had held hands. Most likely he was tired and reluctant to take part in this shenanigans.

After what felt like hours of wandering the capped boy stopped in front of a door, grinning eagerly as he let go of Lucas' hand. "Well, heeya we ah'a."

The door looked innocent enough. In fact, it didn't look any different from other doors in the mansion. Lucas couldn't help but narrow his eyes childishly at it, angry that the door to the forbidden room in the mansion was so... normal. "Can we hurry and get this over with?"

"Ok." Ness took a deep breath before grabbing the handle, onyx eyes carefully looking both ways. The blonde gulped, wringing his hands together and hunching his shoulders in paranoia. What if they got caught? What if someone spotted them and ratted them out? What if the door was rigged to set off an alarm once it was open? He glanced around, almost expecting someone to jump out of the shadows and bust them. Oh, he hated breaking rules! Even back when he and Claus were younger, he had hated it when the older twin had coerced him into some horrible prank. At least then his parents understood Claus was to blame...

"It's locked!"

"Huh?"

"Seh do'a! It's locked!" Ness whined, tugging at his hat. Curious, Lucas tried turning the handle, which refused to turn fully. As Ness continued to complained he couldn't help but give a small smile, somewhat glad the plan had been halted before they had gotten into serious trouble. The blonde stepped back, gently patting his capped friend's back as Red gave the door a try. "Why's seh do'a locked! ?"

"Gee, Ness. Maybe it's because no one's allowed to go in?" Red sighed, letting go of the handle and crossing his arms. "You think Mario's got the key?"

"If he does, then we're never getting in there."

"Mm, don't give up so soon, Lucas. We could steal it..."

"No! It's bad enough you nearly made me break into an off limits room! I'm not stealing!"

"Too 'isskey. Ma'io would catch us. And I pomised Lucas we wouldn' get caught." To Lucas' surprise, Ness slumped against him in defeat, burying his face in the blonde's shoulder. "No choice but to gibe ub and tie again lata."

"Night then guys. Don't get caught going back to your room."

Ness merely muttered as Lucas mumbled a goodbye, watching Red walk off. A few minutes later, a sharp pain made itself known and he cried out, rubbing where Ness had pinched him. "What was that for! ?"

"You feezed me, I pinched you. Weya eben now."

"Jerk."

A laugh. "Come on. Let's go." Ness offered a hand and, despite his irritation, Lucas accepted it.


	5. Chapter 5

I apologize for the delay. Finals, personal issues, a cold, and life in general got too much for me for a bit. And I've been working on a different fic, a Detective Conan/Mother Series crossover called "Butterflies" involving my Vodka = Ninten crack theory. The goal is a serious fic involving said crack theory, as well as Claus being alive and Ness still having feelings for Porky (though he won't admit it). Not trying to advertise it or wave it in anyone's face. Just pointing out that's what I've been working on.

I'm in a good mood now though. Got the intros out of the way for that fic, so now I can type this chapter.

Anyway, two reviews to respond to, since these reviewers do not seem to possess an account here. And I try to respond to all my reviewers, even the anonymous ones. So our reviews. The first (and most recent) is our regular miscat:

_everything is taking a turn for the best. or mabye thats what you want me think!oh well, our phychic boys will be there for each other, right?_

Why yes. They will be there for each other. What are friends for? Then again, I don't even know what's around the corner for our psychic boys. For all I know, Pokey could come out of nowhere and steal Ness away from Lucas!

Second review is from someone named anon:

_Wow, I thought for sure that they would get caught. Will the ever try again?_

Maybe. You never know. To be honest, that last chapter had a different ending, but I eventually had to change it. Why? It involved Jeff. And it wouldn't make sense for Ness to spend all his time with Lucas (a boy he just met) instead of Jeff (a boy he saved the world with). Not to mention including Jeff means including other Assist Trophies, meaning that Sonic's roommate should have been Shadow (them being from the same series and all). However, I will admit I'm a Shadow fan, and we need more Mother characters to play with.

So... new faces will show up this chapter. Also, expect a LOT of fluff, as a sleepy Ness apparently doesn't know what personal space is. This of course leads to blushing Lucas. This is the second time I'll be typing this chapter, since somehow I lost what I had typed before.

As a final note, since this fic has no plot, don't feel shy about asking for scenes or interactions with characters. Just remember what I'm familiar with when requesting a character interaction (Sonic, Mother, Pikmin, Pokemon, Kirby anime, Legend of Zelda). I guess I'll also take pairing requests, as the only canon couple is Ness/Lucas. Just be aware requests will be side pairings. Requests are on a first review, first serve basis. Again, stick to what I know please.

I don't own a thing. If I did, I'd be able to finally own a 3DS and a copy of Pokemon Platinum and Pokemon Black.

* * *

"You're too slow!"

"Get back here, you filthy rat!"

Lucas yawned, trying his best to pay attention to Sonic's fight against Ganondorf. Beside him Ness had given up on that plan, the capped boy having fallen asleep mere minutes after the fight had started and now using an arm rest as a replacement pillow. Normally the blonde would have let his friend sleep in for the day, catching a few hours of shut eye himself, but today a mandatory meeting had been called and, Ness being a veteran, skipping was not an option. Lucas couldn't even remember what had been said, his mind too tired to process what Mario was talking about.

He and Ness had both planned on sleeping after breakfast. However Sonic had started some sort of fight with Ganondorf and somehow ended up coercing Lucas into promising to cheer him on. And with the cocky hedgehog always expecting praise and Lucas unable to disappoint someone or lie, the two psychic boys had ended up on the living room couch watching Sonic taunt and tease the King of Evil.

Sometimes he hated talking animals. Well, not hated. Hate was too strong a word. The blonde wondered if he was even capable of hating.

A yell sounded from somewhere in the mansion, a common occurrence in a house of over thirty people. Ness mumbled, most likely a complaint towards the noise, before sitting back up, rubbing at his eyes and staring at the TV. "'oo's winnin'?"

"No one. Sonic keeps dodging and taunting."

"Oh." The capped boy yawned and leaned back again, struggling against sleep briefly before surrendering and dozing off. Lucas couldn't help but smile, a faint blush staining his cheeks before he returned his attention to the fight. He'd never admit it to the other's face, but he looked cute when he was sleeping. The blonde once again wished that his conscience was flexible enough to let him break this one promise and join Ness in the land of dreams...

"Pathetic."

He jumped, head jerking towards the doorway leading into the hall. For a second, he could have sworn he was looking at Sonic, an impossible event since he could hear the speedster antagonizing Ganondorf still. Upon closer inspection, he realized this was an entirely new hedgehog. This hedgehog was black and red, with a patch of white fluff on his chest and spines that bent upwards. Red eyes focused on him and he squeaked, hurriedly turning away as the stranger made his way over. Once he reached the couch he stopped, crossing his arms and watching the fight.

"Still overconfident and boisterous, I see." He fell silent before glancing at Lucas again, the blonde biting his lip and trying to avoid eye contact. Despite not being able to read auras like Lucario, the timid boy could practically feel the air temperature drop around this being, a dark presence that demanded to be left alone. After what felt like hours the hedgehog eventually turned back to the screen. "How many fights has he won?"

"I-I'm not sure," Lucas stuttered, finding himself scooting away slightly. His leg brushed against Ness' and he winced as the capped boy did, realizing too late his miniature freak out over this new being's mere presence was most likely being picked up on by the other. Sure enough Ness stirred, giving the blonde a tired questioning look before noticing the stranger. Rather than being frightened, the more confident psychic grinned, leaning over Lucas' lap and offering a hand.

"'ello! 'm Ness, one ob seh vetehans! Ah you a new fighta?"

The hedgehog blinked, glancing down at Ness before hesitantly taking the hand and giving it a single shake. "Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Ah you 'elated to-"

"No relation." Shadow scoffed, narrowing his eyes. "I am the Ultimate Lifeform, not some pathetic faker like him. As for why I'm here, I was invited to be something called an 'Assist Trophy'."

The term sounded familiar, but Lucas couldn't seem to focus on it, mind instead focused on the boy who was now laying in his lap. He was sure his face was bright red now, judging by how hot it felt, and a part of him swore that Ness was doing this on purpose for some reason. Honestly, what was stopping him from getting off the couch and talking to Shadow?

Ness, seemingly oblivious to his blonde friend's discomfort, hummed in thought, his tired mind thinking over the dark hedgehogs words before he snapped his fingers. "Oh! Mahio mensoned sat duhin' seh meetin'! So you'a one ob seh people comin' today." He cocked his head, onyx eyes curious. "Watt will you be doin' to 'elp fightas in battle?"

"Chaos Control."

"Ridiculous. How does one control chaos when chaos, by definition, is a lack of order? The concept of controlling chaos would imply that order is being brought to the chaos, thus nullifying it's very existence."

Another new voice. Ness' grin grew as he propped himself up, hands resting on Lucas' leg and, if it was even possible, worsening the timid psychic's blush. "Jeff! You'a an Assist Tophy too?"

A boy around their age walked into view, stopping next to Shadow and adjusting his glasses. He was a blonde like Lucas, though his eyes were a sharp green in color and his hair was similar to a bowl cut. Unlike the two psychics he was wearing a green dress suit, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder instead of a backpack. Upon seeing Ness he smiled. "Haven't seen you in a while. Or heard from you. What, you like your new friends so much now that we don't matter?"

Ness laid back down, shrugging before rolling on his back and apparently ignoring Lucas' squeak of surprise at the action. "Naw, Masta 'and juss 'asn' got seh phones wokin' 'eeya yet. So 'ow is ebeebody?"

"Good," Jeff replied, setting his bag on the couch. "Paula keeps complaining about how you don't call and Poo has been too busy training to hang out much. Oh, your family says hi." He glanced briefly at Lucas, quirking an eyebrow before giving a small smile and busying himself with his bag. "So who's your friend?"

"Lucas. 'e's a fighta like me. Togesa we ah unstobbable!"

"N-Ness is better though," Lucas quickly added, smiling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head. Jeff glanced at the blonde psychic again, inspecting him closely before smiling again.

"You're shy, right?" He blinked in confusion as Jeff continued. "I'm a bit shy too. Ness here helped me overcome it though. He may be a bit of an airhead at times, but as I'm sure you know by now, he's a great friend."

"'ey! 'm not an aiya'ead!"

"Says the guy who's embarrassing his 'unstoppable' partner by using him as a pillow."

"So? Lucas 'abbens to be a good pillow." The capped boy glanced up at Lucas and playfully stuck his tongue out. Despite himself, the more timid boy found himself returning the gesture. Jeff laughed, zipping his bag closed again before turning to Shadow.

"So how does one control chaos?"

The hedgehog scowled. "Explaining would mean quoting the faker's knuckleheaded friend. Something that I refuse to do. I will hoxever say that Chaos Control's affect is to slow time for the fighter's enemies, making them easier to hit." He stared at the suited boy, eyes narrowing slightly. "And what will you do to aid the fight?"

Jeff patted his bag. "Bottle rockets. You could say they're my signature item, since I never leave home without them. In fact, I make them myself."

"Hm. Intriguing."

A yell and Lucas blinked, looking back at the neglected TV. Ganondorf had finally landed a hit it seemed and Sonic had been sent soaring into the distance, the King of Evil giving a taunt of his own as the hedgehog reappeared. Finally the speedster got serious, attacking his opponent with a flurry of fast moves. Ness grinned, the grin that always gave Lucas a bad feeling. "'ey... Ah any of seh osa Assist Tophies 'eeya yet?"

Jeff fiddled with his glasses again. "I did see some other people entering the building. So it's entirely possible."

The grin widened and Ness finally got off Lucas, only to lean into his face. "Let's 'ab a fendly battle Lucas! Wiss Assist Tophies!"

xXx

How was it that Ness always got what he wanted?

Lucas whimpered nervously, staring across the field at the confident friend turned opponent who had had the brilliant idea to test out the Assist Trophies before any of the other fighters. Seriously, why did it seem like Ness could always talk him into doing things he really didn't want to do? At least with Claus he had had some control and was better able to dig his heels in the ground and say no. With the capped boy though, resisting was as effective as trying to pet the Ultimate Chimera.

"Ready... GO!"

Ness immediately charged, hands sparking with psionic energy. Before he could attack Lucas quickly jumped over him, gaining some height through levitation. Unfortunately Ness managed to pull of a PK Thunder soon after, shocking the blonde and causing him to fall flat on his face. "Come on, Lucas! Attack me!"

Sighing in defeat, Lucas jumped to his feet and lashed out with the Rope Snake Duster had given him. The snake latched onto the other boy's shirt successfully and Lucas jerked him over, tossing him over his back and closing his eyes in concentration before raising his hands. "PK Freeze!" The ice formed and grew as it approached Ness, the boy barely dodging in time as the ice exploded. There was movement behind Ness and he grinned, running towards what looked like a trophy stand with a glass dome over it. The capped psychic touched the base, covering his eyes as the item flashed and Jeff seemed to appear in midair.

The suited boy pushed his glasses up and looked around. "Incredible. What is this place?"

"Final Destinason. So does sis mean you'a on my team?"

"Only until my bottle rockets have been set off. We're not permanent partners you know." He shrugged off his bag, setting a his rockets up. "You may want to lure opponents towards me so my attacks actually hit."

"Ok!" Ness smirked and ran at Lucas again, pulling out his bat and swinging. Getting a gist of what Ness meant to do the timid boy ducked before aiming a kick at Ness' chest, catching him off guard and sending him flying just as a shrill series of whistles filled the air. The first three fell short, but the fourth was closer to its mark, detonating right in front of Lucas and blowing him back. Unfortunately, he had been too close to the edge and he found himself falling, too far down to save himself with PK Thunder. Upon returning he pouted, watching as Ness gave Jeff a high five before he vanished.

With Lucas peeved over such an easy win, the fight finally heated up, the blonde showing no mercy towards his capped friend. Elemental attacks lit the skies as stick and baseball bat met repeatedly with a resounding crack. When the next Assist Trophy appeared Lucas hurriedly touched it, stepping back as Shadow appeared. The hedgehog smirked before narrowing his eyes at Ness, causing the boy to flinch. "Chaos... Control!"

Time slowed, the entire area taking on a reddish glow. Ness was trying to dodge as Lucas came at him, but he had been affected by the attack, his eyes gradually widening as Lucas charged his swing. With no way to escape the stick met its target, sending the usually confident psychic flying out of bounds just as time resumed to normal. With the two now tied with one death each, things could only get more intense. Another Assist Trophy suddenly appeared and Ness took advantage of his mercy invincibility to claim it. A flash of light...

"HEY! NO RESETTING!"

The yell from a mole in overalls was enough to surprise both boys, who had been fighting at the edge. Losing his balance Ness fell, grabbing Lucas instinctively and taking him with.

In the end, both boys agreed that they didn't like Mr. Resetti at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Well I'm in a surprisingly good mood. Got to watch some Detective Conan today (Youtube no longer shows the anime) and got myself a bunch of Mother music for my Sansa. Now if only it wasn't so hot outside so I could walk while listening to this music...

Anyway, replying to a question from miscat's last review:

_dont you think the mother section and some others could have easily gotten more trophies then they already have?(and i swear, it seems that nintendo gods are just being lazy these days...)_

It may be my lack of experience with most of the Nintendo games, but I think they did what they could. In all honesty, the only other Mother characters that could have been trophies are probably Duster and Teddy. Duster could stun enemies to make them easier to hit while Teddy would act as your partner and slash people with his katana. Another possible trophy could be the Masked Man, who would raise his sword and summon a lightning storm...

Hell, if the Masked Man was in SSB, that could be his Final Smash. It'd make him unique anyway, since both Mother characters use fricking PK Starstorm. Don't get me wrong, the move is awesome, but why couldn't they have used PK Rockin and PK Love? Complete with sound effects from the games. Now THAT is a hack I'd love to see.

With that in mind, I'm definitely making a Masked Man move set. If anyone's interested, then I'll post it next update. And slightly unclean and not very tasty cookies to any hackers out there who can not only make a completely functional and original Masked Man, but a PK Rockin Final Smash for Ness and a PK Love Final Smash for Lucas.

Random note here, but reviewing the status affects in EarthBound and Mother 3, you come to the conclusion that Ness gets the short end of the stick when it comes to status ailments. Seriously:

-If Ness catches a cold, he loses 4 HP per turn. Lucas never catches one. At all.  
-If Ness gets mushroomized, he stays mushroomized until healed by a specialist. Lucas can pretty much walk it off. Seriously.  
-Nausea causes Ness to lose 20 HP per turn. Lucas merely can't eat. He doesn't loose any HP.  
-When poisoned, Ness loses 20 HP per turn. Lucas only loses 5 HP. That's a fourth of the damage Ness takes.  
-Sunstroke will make Ness lose 4 HP per turn. Lucas never gets sunstroke. Despite there being a desert in his game too. Ness rarely gets sunstroke though thanks to his cap.

Finally, the big one... Ness gets homesick. Come to think of it, Lucas is the only Mother protagonist who lacks a unique status ailment (Ninten, remember, suffers asthma attacks against certain enemies). Combined with the above facts, does this make Lucas the most badass of the three? [Note: For those who are curious, Ninten also never gets sunstroke. He also never gets nausea, but he can still be poisoned and given a cold. So... Ninten is runner up badass and Ness is a whimp?]

Anyway, this is a chapter dealing with the homesick status ailment. If there's one thing I want to see more of, it's fics of Ness being homesick. Seriously, it's part of who he is, so why is it never played with? Hell, you could claim it's the reason Ness was supposedly bad in Melee. He wasn't nerfed; he was just homesick. I've only read one fic where Ness gets homesick and it was done beautifully. If anyone's interested, it's called "Steak and Eggs" and was written by The Great Chicken Miasma. Also has some Ness/Lucas in it.

This intro thing is too long, so let's get to the pointless fluff already. I don't own, blah blah, clap your hands if you read the entire intro, let's go already.

* * *

The moment he woke up, Lucas knew something was wrong.

There was a feeling in the air, a heavy emotion that had seemed to infiltrate his dreams and cause all his saddest memories to resurface. At least, he wanted to blame this strange wave of loss and depression for his restless night of seeing his mother sacrificing her life to push him and Claus into the river, hearing the horrible news that his twin had vanished only for the redhead to appear before him in the bomber jacket and metal helmet, his one visible eye dull as he aimed his canon arm at the younger... The blonde had shot up with a choked cry, trembling and gripping the sheets tightly as he fought back tears.

He missed them. He had managed to come to terms with the deaths, accept the fact and move on, but that didn't mean that he longed for the days when he and Claus would cause mischief in the house and end the day cuddling with their mother in her favorite chair. Knowing Porky, the cause of their deaths, was out there now and had escaped without any punishment only made it worse, especially after finding out that he wasn't the only person the psychopathic child had hurt and would probably not be the last.

Lucas whimpered, tightening his hold on his sheets and trying to gather himself. Judging by the lack of light in the room, it was probably the middle of the night and he didn't want to disturb Ness. As that thought entered his head however, his mind finally caught up to his subconscious and it was then that he had realized that the thick, almost suffocating negative energy that he had sense upon waking up had not come from him and, not only that, it was familiar and giving him an intense feeling of deja vu. A brief vision of a shaking form, pained onyx eyes, a phantom pressure on his hand...

A sniffle, so quiet the blonde barely heard it, sounded on his left.

Blue eyes widened as Lucas hurriedly threw off his blankets, stumbling out of his bed and rushing to Ness'. The usually capped boy had his back to the other, face buried in his pillow as he curled up under his blankets. At first glance, he seemed to be asleep, but closer inspection revealed that his shoulders were hunched and he too was trembling. Biting back his usual hesitation the blonde forced himself to roughly grab Ness' shoulders and turn him around, earning a surprised squeak in response. Lucas took advantage of the shock to scan the raven haired psychic's face.

Ness had been crying. Ness wasn't supposed to cry. He was the confident and strong one here, why was it that he had been crying so much this past week? If anyone should have been crying that often it should have been Lucas, who had actually been known as the town crybaby for most of his life back in Tazimilly. This time there hadn't even been any warning; Ness had spent the rest of his day chatting happily with his friend Jeff and no one had made fun of his accent or mentioned Porky and his current location.

Sighing softly, Lucas coaxed Ness into sitting up and dug around in the nightstand's drawer, eventually finding a package of tissues which he used to wipe the other boy's face. Even with the lack of light he could tell Ness' face was bright red, most likely out of embarrassment or shame at once again being the weaker of the two. Once the tension in the air had loosened its grip he spoke. "Are you ok?" Ness remained still before slowly shaking his head. "Do... Do you wanna talk about it?"

Silence. Lucas was worried that he'd get no response when Ness mumbled, eyes glued to his lap as he wrung his hands. "'m... 'm juss... juss a little... um..." The blush deepened, confirming the blonde's suspicions of embarrassment. "Juss a tiny bit... um..." He inhaled before sighing deeply. "'m 'omesick, ok?"

"Homesick? That's it?" The timid boy scowled, eyes narrowing. "Are you serious?"

"You can't tell any ob seh osas, Lucas!" Ness suddenly snapped, fixing the other with a glare and causing him to flinch. Immediately afterwards Ness bit his lip, looking back at his hands as his eyes watered again. "I-I was able to 'ando it duhin' seh fuhss tou'nament. It wasn' sat long and I only came in fo seh lass few fights. Sen seh second came..." He sniffed, wiping at his eyes with the backs of his hands. "I couldn' do it. I was one ob seh fuhss ones bought in and afta a while I-I juss... I stahted sinkin' ob 'ome and mom and-and steak and I juss... I sibbed ub once. Sen twice. And it juss got wohss and I juss wanted to go 'ome because I wasn' 'abin' fun anymo'a."

"Didn't anyone notice?" Lucas asked, gently lowering Ness' hands and once again dabbing at his face. For the briefest of moments, he was reminded of his mother back when she had been alive, holding him close and rocking him as she cleaned his face in the same way he was now cleaning his friend's. "I-I mean, they had to have noticed that you weren't doing your best and were upset."

"I 'id it fom sem," Ness muttered, looking to the side and away from Lucas. "Bad enoub I 'ab sis stubid occent. I didn' want sem knowin' 'm a mama's boy too."

"There's nothing wrong with loving your mother." The blonde's throat tightened and he gulped, pushing back thoughts of his own mother as he put the tissues away. Pausing with his hand on the drawer, he smiled at Ness over his shoulder. "Just be thankful that you have her in your life."

Onyx eyes widened and Ness suddenly leaped to his feet, hands burying themselves in his hair before hiding his face. "Oh Paya, Lucas, I didn'- I-I mean 'm sah-ee- I souldn' hab said it like sat, I didn' mean to 'emind you ob-"

"It's fine, Ness. You can't help it."

"B-But it's my fauht! I sould ob stobbed Pokey-"

"If you had done that, we'd never have met. I-I..." Lucas blinked, glancing at the upset psychic. "Wait, are you blaming yourself for what he did to my home?"

Ness stared at his feet, as if finding them more interesting than the conversation. "A... A little. I-I mean, we weh neighbohs and 'e was once my... fend and-and I 'ad seh chance to stop 'im once and fo all back duhin' seh final battle wiss 'im and Giygas..."

Tired of the rambling Lucas pulled his fellow psychic into a hug, rubbing his back slightly in a way his mom had sometimes done for him and Claus. "Stop that. How were you supposed to know that Porky would end up in my time and cause so much trouble? You didn't even know I existed until we met here." Ness remained silent and the blonde sighed. "Look. You're upset. You're homesick. How do we fix this?"

"Call mom."

"Not exactly an option, since this mansion still hasn't had phones installed. And if you don't want anyone else to know, we can't just go to Samus or Fox and ask to borrow one of their devices. We're not even sure it would work between dimensions." Ness shivered in response and Lucas winced, wondering if his words had been too harsh. "Isn't there something that could maybe... I don't know, make you forget about it? A temporary fix or something?"

"... Chicks."

The blonde bit his lip, a cold chill hitting his spine as he remember the last time the baby birds had been the center of conversation. Lucas was smart. Maybe not the smartest in the mansion, but he was smart enough to realize that Ness needed his chicks soon and that meant going to the closest source. The timid boy shuddered at the realization. "Ch-Chicks?"

"Uh, I-I mean, I don' 'eally need one. I can 'ando a little 'omesickness. 'oness. I managed to suhbibe seh melee tohnament..."

"You told me earlier you just wanted to go home."

"I'll juss lahn to toub it out."

"No, you'll end up like this every night and lose in every single fight after tonight, slowly becoming more depressed and eventually breaking down. Then people are going to notice." This time Lucas was certain his words had been harsh, though he found himself surprised that he didn't feel as guilty as he should. Probably because it was the honest truth. Thinking over this odd lack of guilt he stepped back, inspecting Ness again before walking to the other boy's dresser and pulling out the closest outfit. "Get dressed," he instructed, tossing the clothes to their owner.

"Lucas, 'm fine! We don' 'ab to go if you don' wanna!"

"We-We're going and that's final," the blonde growled, opening his own dresser and pulling out a shirt. He could feel his heart racing in his chest as his stomach twisted painfully, his mind practically screaming at him to believe Ness' obvious lies so that he wouldn't have to go there. He was, honest to Player, terrified of that fact that his only options were to make Ness suffer or enter the place that held so many horrible memories and the one who had ruined his entire life and shattered Ness' heart. The former would hurt though, more than the memories, because it would be happening right in front of him and it would be all his fault for letting his fears get the best of him.

Once he was dressed Lucas grabbed his stick and pulled a rather disgruntled Rope Snake out of his top dresser drawer. Choosing to ignore the creature's annoyed thoughts as he placed it in his pocket, he turned to Ness to make sure that he was dress. The outfit that he had grabbed ended up being one of Ness' alternate ones, a black shirt with a Mr. Saturn that Ness always wore a pink hat with. He rarely ever wore it, though it was more out of love for his usual attire than hating it. Noticing Lucas looking at him, the capped boy looked away and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You don'-"

"I do. You're hurting. It-It's my job as a friend to fix it. You always help me when I'm upset. Why shouldn't I return the favor?" He smiled shakily, wishing his cowardly mind would shut up and stop agreeing with Ness. "So let's..." He gulped, his faked bravado slipping briefly. "L-Let's go to the Ruined Zoo, ok?"

"... Ok."


	7. Chapter 7

I like how I managed to make a cliffhanger last chapter. Makes for lovely suspense.

Well I don't have much to say before this chapter. miscat didn't really have many questions, but their enthusiasm for the upcoming chickies is well placed. Yay chickies! Fun fact, if Ness and Pokey were Pokemon, they'd be a Torchic and a Tepig. If you don't get it, think about it for a little longer. Go on.

Note: In the English prototype of Mother (where the Ruined Zoo comes from), the zoo was simply called City Zoo. For this fic, we will be using its original name in Japan, Choucream Zoo. Also, according to SmashWiki, Towtows only appear during Hard or higher difficulty. Still felt like including one though.

I don't own anything. All I own is my laptop and its emulators. And the later was a gift.

* * *

Sneaking out of the mansion had been surprisingly easy for the two psionic users. One of their fellow fighters had caused some sort of problem on the other side of the mansion, where the Assist Trophies were now living, and any fighters that the ruckus had woken up had rushed to the source. Lucas had tried joking to Ness about it, claiming that maybe the Player was on their side, but his attempt of lightening the mood had gained no response.

Once out of the mansion however, things went from noisy to dead silent, the sliver of a moon barely giving off enough light to see the world beyond the gate. The lack of any noise was unnerving and the blonde nervously gripped the capped boy's hand, prompting the other to glance at him with dull eyes. Lucas quickly averted his own eyes as his face heated up. "It-It's creepy out here."

Ness gave a half-hearted shrug, motioning towards the mansion with a nod. "It's... Sere's still a chance to tuhn back..."

Lucas tightened his grip, starting forward with a determined growl. "I can do this. Trust me. If-If I could fight my own brother, I can handle some creepy zoo. I mean, it's j-just a zoo, right? Even if it's abandoned and the animals were replaced by monsters..." With each word that left his mouth his pace slowed, suddenly stopping altogether a few yards away from the mansion gates. Great, his trying to strengthen his resolve had all but shattered it. Now his thoughts were focused on the horrors that awaited them and he couldn't help but feel sick with fear, covering his mouth as he clamped his eyes shut.

"Ah... Ah you ok, Lucas?" A hand found its way to the timid psychic's shoulder and he sighed, placing his hand on top of it before opening his eyes.

"I... I'm fine. Just a bit scared is all. We'll... At least, I think we'll be fine as long as we don't run into..."

He trailed off, choosing instead to start walking again as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Ness was instantly at his side, hands also in his pockets and his eyes staring to the side. Silence fell once again, the only sound being the boys' footsteps as they approached the remains in the distance. Blue eyes stole a peek at his companion before he looked again and spoke. "Aren't you... scared?"

"Mm... Not 'eally. Like you said, it's juss a zoo. And we can 'ando seh monstas. 'm sir ob it."

"And... him?"

Ness remained silent. Lucas instantly regretted asking the question, knowing that he had no doubt poked at a wound that had just managed to heal and was now torn open again. "I-I mean, um, I know you guys used to be friends from what you showed me... No, forget I said that, what I meant to say was-"

"It's ok, Lucas," Ness stated softly, cutting the blonde off. Not even looking at the other he smiled, a sad gesture on a usually cheerful face. "We wah... 'eally cose. 'ee eben called me Pig's Butt because I was always 'ight be'ind 'im and peopo called 'im a pig."

"I... kinda figured." The timid boy rubbed an arm, the memory of what Ness had shown him flitting through his mind briefly. "You must really hate him for what he did."

The capped boy shook his head, still smiling sadly into the distance. "I 'onessly don' sink weeya cababo ob 'ating, Lucas. You and me... Weeya diff'ent fom osas. When bad sin's 'abben... I... I know I 'aben' libbed eben 'alf as long as adults 'ab... but I do 'ab penty ob memo'ies. And eben sough Pokey..." He trailed off, eyes falling to the ground. "Eben sough Pokey 'uht me... 'ee also made me smile. Cheeya'd me ub when I was ubset and potected me when I was weak. I can't foget seh Pokey fom befo, eben if 'ee's gone now." Suddenly he grinned, the sadness from before vanishing in an instant. "Besides, I'be got a new potecta now!"

Lucas blinked. "Who?"

The grin seemed to morph into a teasing smirk as Ness placed his hands behind his head, feigning disinterest in the conversation. "Mm... 'ee knows 'oo 'ee is. 'ee's always by my side and makes me stonga by juss bein' 'imself."

"Ness, the only person who's always at your side is... is..." As the realization sank in the blonde blushed, the sudden color in his face only deepening as his fellow psychic laughed. Well, at least Ness was obviously feeling better at the moment, though he had no clue how long this would last. Trying to find something to say he merely found himself opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, only succeeding in fueling the laughter. Now he was fully embarrassed and he glared at the amused other. "Stop that!"

"Y-You soulda seen you'a face! All bight 'ed and eyes wide like you'd seen a ghoss o' somesin'!"

"W-W-Well why would you call me your protector of all things! ? I-If anything, you protect me!"

"You'a so cute when you buhsh!"

Again he was speechless, unable to do anything but stare at the still laughing Ness as his words seemed to repeat in his head. Oh... Oh Player, did Ness really... did he... Ness had just called him cute, hadn't he? The brave and confident, baseball loving Ness had just called him cute. The last time he could remember anyone calling him cute had been back when he met a disguise Kumatora at a club, and even then it had been a part of the disguise. For some reason his heart was pounding in his chest as he felt strangely lightheaded. "D-Did you just call me cute?"

The laughter died down, the raven haired psychic wiping his eyes with his hands. "Look, eben seh potecta needs to be potected sometimes, 'ight?"

"Ness! Answer me!"

"I juss did."

"No! I mean... Ulg, forget it." Lucas crossed his arms, glaring in front of him with a pout. Ness chuckled beside him, only to fall silent immediately afterwards and bite his lip. Curious at the change in mood the blonde looked where the capped boy was looking, feeling his stomach seem to drop. As expected in such a place, the sign above them was decayed and peeling, but its words could still be read.

**Choucream Zoo**

Lucas gulped, fear once again making him feel sick. Beyond the rusted gateway housing the sign he could already see a few monsters shifting among the ruins, some of them watching him as if waiting for him to make a move... Shivering, he took a deep breath and grabbed Ness' hand, dragging the now reluctant boy through the gates and into what was to him a personal hell. "Come on. Let's find a Ticken, get your chick, and leave."

"Lucas..." The usually confident psychic's voice was quiet again, its tone all too similar to earlier that night when he had been talking about the melee tournament. The good mood from just minutes ago had vanished completely, the timid boy realizing that Ness was once again sinking into his depression. Before he could say anything encouraging however a low, eerie moan filled the air. Blue eyes widened in terror as Lucas turned, whimpering as he caught sight of humanoid mass of grey and black rectangles.

Floows. He had forgotten that those were here too. Unlike other monsters, they were capable of healing themselves and their unearthly screams could easily cause high amounts of damage. As the thing focused its glowing red eyes on the intruders Lucas quickly readied his stick, swallowing his fear. "You ready, Ness?" When the other didn't respond, he scowled and looked back. "Ness?"

"I-I... I c-can't..." Ness whimpered, onyx eyes shimmering as he stepped back and his voice cracked. "M-Mom... I-I want mom..."

"Ness, snap out of it!"

"I-I wanna go 'ome..."

"Ness!" He was losing him. He was losing him and at one of the worst possible moments too. The Floow was drifting towards them now, another one close behind it, and Lucas grit his teeth, mind racing. Should he try fighting two Floows on his own? No, too risky. Floows could alternate their attacks and trap fighters in their screams. And with Ness so far gone, with no motivation to fight, the likelihood of getting trapped with no chance of escape was high. That left one option and the blonde took it, reclaiming Ness' hand and running past the enemy. No sooner had they passed and gained a few yards distance when the Floows screamed, a horrid sound that Lucas knew he would be hearing in his dreams for the next week or two.

Once they were a safe distance away Lucas turned his attention to Ness, shaking the boy's shoulders desperately. "Ness, listen to me! We're here now, we just need to get a chick and everything will be ok!"

"I-I juss... I j-juss wanna... M-Mom and Kin' and T-T'acy... 'ome... Wanna... 'ome..." His voice was little more than a broken sob now, tears streaming down his face as he choked on his words. Lucas winced at how unnatural the sight was to him, his chest physically hurting at just how hurt and lost Ness sounded. Everything before this, the accent and the memories of Porky, none of it had been this bad. It was scary how much Ness needed him right now, scarier than being back in the place that still gave him nightmares, and... and...

"I... Ness, please... I-I can't do this..." The timid psychic could feel his own eyes watering, throat tightening as he trembled. "I can't do this, Ness. I-I can't... I don't know how to protect... I-I never had to, I always had you and Claus and-and Duster and K-Kumatora... Please, don't... don't make me do this alone." His pleas fell on deaf ears and he took a shuddering breath, running a hand through his hair. Whether he was ready or not, everything depended on him now. With Ness out for the count, it was up to him to take the role of leader and lead them to safety. What if he messed up though and Ness got hurt because of him?

Arms wrapped around his waist and tightened their grip, causing the blonde to squeak in surprise as he collided with the capped boy. Soon after Ness buried his face in the other's shoulder, soaking his sleeve almost immediately. "'m-'m sah-ee..."

Lucas sighed, awkwardly returning the embrace as his blush returned once again. "It's... It's ok. I'll manage. I mean... I have to, right? You're in no shape to battle... N-Not that it's your fault." He paused, thinking over his worlds as he rubbed Ness' back in an attempt to comfort. "I... I want you to stay here, alright? Just keep out of sight and don't let any of the things here see you. I'll go on ahead and be back with your chick before you know it."

"Pomise?"

He managed a shaky smile, gently prying Ness off of him and guiding him towards the remains of what had once been the Porky Statue, but was now a miserable pile of rubble. "I promise. Just... stay safe. I'll be right back."

Ness simply sat against the rubble, hugging his knees as he sniffed. Lucas hesitated, suddenly unsure about leaving the depressed boy by himself. As he had pointed out, Ness wasn't able to fight right now. He was basically a sitting duck, a target just waiting to be broken. Still, they had no choice; they needed to find a Ticken to cure his homesickness, and with Ness unable to do anything, leaving him here would make the quest easier. With one last look at his friend, the timid blonde turned and ran off, making sure to stay out of sight of the enemies infesting the area.

What felt like hours passed, though in reality it couldn't be more than a few minutes. Lucas was carefully edging his way past a sleeping Towtow when he finally spotted his target, standing near a large puddle of water with its back to him. Smiling at his turn of luck he inhaled, focusing his psionic energy before lifting his hands and whispering so as not to wake the Towtow behind him. "PK Freeze." As the cold gathered around his hands he mental pushed it, guiding it towards the Ticken. Just in time it reached the enemy and exploded in an icy blast, stunning the Ticken and causing it to fall over. Before it could get back up the blonde rushed forwards, trapping it in a PK Fire before bringing his stick down as hard as he could. Luck continued to be on his side as the metal shell fell apart instantly, revealing the precious creature within.

A chick, buttery yellow and fluffy with downy feathers. The one thing guaranteed to help Ness.

Lucas grinned in triumph, plucking the chick out of its metallic nest and placing it in his pocket. Already he could imagine the joy on Ness' face when he held it, the smile that would overcome his features and banish the tears that didn't belong. As he made his way back to where he had left the capped boy, minding the still slumbering Towtow, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at himself for overcoming his fear.

Suddenly he froze, a chill racing down his spine. Similar to when he'd woken up a couple hours ago, he knew, somehow, that something was very, very wrong. Barely noticing the lack of enemies around him he broke into a run, heart thudding in his chest as he forced himself to run even when his chest started to burn. No. No, it couldn't be, he had just had so much luck with the chick, they were almost out of this hell, fate couldn't possibly be that cruel, right?

Yet as the Porky Statue remains came in sight, there was no doubt who was in the spider mecha that now towered over Ness.


	8. Chapter 8

Woot! Another cliffhanger! Yup, that last chapter ended like that because I had no clue how Porky was going to react to Ness. Would he take pity on his old friend? Or would he take advantage of him? Well, the sadistic Porky/Ness yaoi fan in me had a few things to say...

To be honest, I'm only working on this chapter now because I am completely stumped on my next chapter of Butterflies. I mean, I know what will happen in the chapter, but I'm not entirely sure how to get from point A to point B. And I want to unite Lucas and Rope Snake, but yet again, how to do so is troubling me. So all you Sunda fans are in luck.

Anyway, miscat has given this request:

_hey, when the whole situation is done, can they break the fourth wall a bit and visit ? if they did, that would be awesome._

To be honest, I don't want to break the fourth wall too much. Not to mention that I only go to for The Chosen Four comic, so I can't really do a chapter about it since I don't know much about it. Finally, I have some plans for the next few chapter. Plans that may take our psychic boys' relationship further... or shatter it completely. So while I can't give you fourth wall breakage, I can hopefully entertain you with what I do have in store.

Also, this chapter explains why Ness doesn't use PK Rockin and Lucas doesn't use PK Love. And Ness shows off a little something that he's known since the first tournament (probably obvious if you know your SSB history).

As you all know by now, I don't own anything. There'd be an anime movie trilogy if I did. Because you know it would be awesome.

* * *

The world seemed to freeze around him.

Within the pink tinted glass of the spider mecha the boy who had caused so much destruction and death in the name of boredom was grinning, staring down at the huddled capped boy through ragged, snow white bangs. Ness himself was trembling, teary onyx eyes staring back as he hugged his knees in a death grip. Lucas wanted so much to move, to rush forward and in between the two ex-friends, but his feet refused to listen, his own body shaking as he watched the scene before him.

Porky Minch's grin morphed into a smirk. "Hello, Pig's Butt."

"Pokey..." The voice was unbelievably small and meek, the speaker shrinking back into the statue remains in a futile effort to gain some distance. The blue skinned boy in the mecha chuckled before breaking into a hacking cough, wheezing once the fit was over.

"Heh, no one calls me that anymore." Another wheeze, followed by the mecha shifting slightly, moving so that its owner was closer to his cornered prey. "They call me Master Porky now. Or King P. Though for you, I'll make an exception." As Ness shuddered the self proclaimed king once again smirked, speaking too quietly for Lucas to hear. Whatever he had said, it hit hard, judging by how the raven haired psychic whimpered, and it was then the blonde finally managed to move, running as fast as he could and flinging his hands in front of him.

"PK Fire!"

As the psionic flames hit the glass of the mecha it jerked back, backing away a good few yards on its sharp legs before stumbling to a stop. Wasting no time Lucas positioned himself between Ness and their enemy, shoving the chick into his speechless friend's hands before readying his stick. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, his mind racing as he tried to think of what Porky could have possibly said to Ness to freak him out. "Leave him alone."

The chubby boy in the mecha remained silent for a while, inspecting the timid psychic before grinning. "Oh. It's you. The kid who broke my last mecha." Porky coughed again, panting as he gasped, grin still wide on his sickly blue face. "Did you ever meet my perfect pet? I'm assuming you did since the world isn't dead and all. I would have asked you last time, but Taboo wanted you dead."

The stick shook in his hands. "Claus wasn't your pet. You-You brainwashed him. He's... He's dead now and it's all your fault!"

Porky didn't look the least bit phased, his gaze once again on Ness. "What do you say Ness? Don't you want to be friends again? I missed you so much..." He paused to catch his breath. "Everyone hates me... and they hate you too, right? You're nothing but a freak to them. I can protect you though. Make them suffer..."

Lucas grit his teeth, watching out of the corner of his eye as Ness choked back a sob and held the chick close. So that's what Porky had said. The larger boy was trying to talk Ness over to his side by reminding him of their childhood together while taking advantage of long buried fears... Growling he swung the stick as hard as he could, hitting a spider leg and causing the mecha to stumble again. "Shut up! J-Just shut up!" He could feel the familiar stinging in his eyes, ignoring it as the mecha righted itself and its owner seemed to glare at him. "You make me sick... N-Ness showed me what happened! How you left him after he trusted you!"

"I forgot how annoying you are." A leg raised and lashed out, Lucas barely moving out of the way as it impaled the ground where he had once been standing. Unfortunately his landing was ungraceful and the blonde tripped, falling to the ground as his stick flew out of his hands. Blue eyes widened, a wave of deja vu hitting him as he slowly looked over his shoulder at another sharp and jagged leg rising to strike and he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain.

"PK Sunda!"

Just like before, during their first encounter so long ago, the capped boy had saved him. As Lucas opened his eyes he couldn't help but smile, grateful for the return of the other psychic's determination as Ness placed his hands to his forehead in concentration, a ball of green light gathering above him. "PK Foss!" The light expanded before shattering and filling the entire area with blinding light, Lucas remembering at the last second to avert his eyes. Porky however wasn't as lucky, yelling in pain as his mecha back away hurriedly in his attempts to escape.

"Damnit Ness! What'd you go and do that for! ?"

"You'a not my fend anymo'a!" Ness practically scream, hands balling into fists at his sides. Lucas shivered, leaping to his feet and backing away from the capped psychic, who's eyes were trained on Porky. The blonde had seen many emotions on the other's face, from excited to depressed, even terrified. But never, in the time he had gotten to know him, had he ever seen Ness so enraged and angered. The raven haired psychic was almost glowing in his rage as he spat at his opponent. "Fends don' abandon each osa o' join seh enemy juss because say wehya picked on!"

Porky merely frowned. "I would have kept you alive. Those other so called Chosen Ones not so much, but you yes. Your special, Ness. So very special-"

"PK Fiya!" Flames engulfed the mecha, licking at the glass and the legs tried futilely to stomp the fire out. Shaking his head, Lucas hurriedly attacked with his own fire attack, joining Ness' side. To his surprise the angered boy pointed at him, still glaring at Porky. "Lucas is my bess fend now! Not you!"

"Really now?" Lucas didn't like the tone the blue skinned 'king' was using. It was dangerously acidic, dripping in thoughtfulness and something the blonde couldn't recognize. A glowing sphere gathered about the mecha and a beam of energy shot at them, the two psionic users dodging to opposite sides. Lucas dodged again as a metallic leg impaled the ground before him and Porky cackled, an eerie grin on his face. "Then I'll just have to kill him so he knows who you really belong to."

Ok, Lucas really didn't like how that statement had sounded. He raised his hands and launched a ball of ice at the mecha, aiming for one of the legs. "PK Freeze!" To his dismay the mecha jumped, causing the attack to miss and shaking the entire ground as it landed. Ness frantically waved his arms to keep his balance while Lucas landed on the ground with a yelp, rolling to the side as a leg tried to impale him. Once again he raised his hands...

"PK 'ockin Omega!"

A wave of red, blue and yellow psychokinetic light flooded the area, crashing into the mecha violently as a harsh noise tore through the air. Lucas quickly covered his ears and closed his eyes. "Ness! We aren't supposed to use our signature moves in this world!" The Hands in charge of the tournament had forbid it, claiming that the attacks were unfairly strong and unavoidable, which would give the two psychics an unfair advantage. Ness however didn't seem to care, continuing the attack before a leg knocked him to the side. As the attack faded the mecha towered over him, its owner's face twisted in rage rivaling the capped boy's.

"You... You brat! I offer to be your friend again and you refuse!" Ness growled in response, only to squeak as a leg jabbed into his throat, drawing a small trickle of blood as Porky continued. "I really did miss you. I was so stupid to let you go. Can't you see that you and I belong together? Outcasts hated by their fellow humans..." He took a shaky breath, hacking briefly. "I'm so sick of them all... Do you know what I realized during all those years of time travel abuse?" He chuckled darkly, the sound sending shivers down Lucas' spine. "I realized I wanted you."

He'd had enough. Despite hating the idea of breaking rules the timid boy closed his eyes, throwing his hands towards the mecha. "PK Love Omega!" He didn't even need to look to know that the attack of pink, purple and periwinkle had hit, able to tell based on how Porky yelled and the mecha screeched in protest. As he opened his eyes he watched as Ness leaped to his feet, running to Lucas' side and motioning for him to stop. Confused the blonde did so, earning a grin from his friend.

"Way to go Lucas!" Arms were suddenly flung around his neck, nearly choking him. As Lucas' cheeks reddened Ness stepped away, adjusting his hat. "You sould stand back now. I wanna gibe seh final smass."

"Wait, what?" Ness ignored him, turning back to the spider mecha and giving it his usual confident smirk. Inhaling deeply, the capped boy reached towards the sky, eyes closing as he focused. Lucas curiously watched, backing up slightly as he felt the immense amount of psionic energy gathering around Ness. Something big was going to happen. Something familiar too... Slowly it hit him and his eye grew wide, mouth gaping in astonishment right as Ness opened his eyes and the entire area seemed to darken.

"PK... STAHSTOME!"

Seconds after the words left his mouth, the summoned storm materialized, large comets of light raining down from the sky and striking the ground with amazing strength. Each star roared as it fell, impacting with a deafening bang that obliterated anything beneath it. Porky's mecha stood no chance; as the attack hit, legs broke off and the hull received massive dents. With a scream of rage the larger boy retreated, trying desperately to dodge his way through the storm with little success. Once the enemy was out of sight the starstorm finally ended, the sky resuming its dreary overcast look.

Ness' eyes fluttered as he collapsed to his knees, arms shaking as he held himself up. Crying out in alarm, Lucas bent down and grabbed his shoulder. "Ness!"

The onyx eyed psychic laughed breathlessly, once again throwing his arms around Lucas' neck. "Sat... Sat was inc'ehdabo! Did you see sat! ? I did it! I finally did it!"

"D-Did what?" Lucas stuttered, feeling his face heat up. Ness was oblivious as always to the blonde's discomfort, continuing to laugh as he leaned heavily against his friend.

"Seh Stahstome! I'b been pacticin' since seh fihss tou'nament, but I could neba manage to do it. But... But I finally did it! Poo would be so poud!"

Lucas sighed in relief, enjoying the positive and happy vibe the once depressed boy was now giving off. Finally, for the first time in a long while, Ness was happy, with no sign of any negative feelings. "You... That was... amazing, Ness. Absolutely amazing." He glanced towards the sky, blinking at the sight of sunlight trying to penetrate the clouds. "We should get back. Wanna grab your chick?"

Ness shook his head, the motion causing his nose to tickle the blonde's neck and worsen his blush. "It few off." He paused before laughing awkwardly. "Um... Could you cah-ee me back? 'm too tiya'ed fom sat Stahstome to mobe..."

"I-I-I can try..."

A few minutes later, with Ness clinging to his back, Lucas slowly made his way back to the mansion, wondering why the contact with the other was making him lightheaded.


	9. Chapter 9

After a long hiatus... I return!

Ok, so technically I never vanished. To be honest, I've been busy this past week or so helping out a friend at his video game store. It's pretty awesome. I've tested a bunch of consoles, controllers, and games, as well as helped him make gaming bundles and even soft-modded a Wii. That Wii now plays Mother 3 in sexy English. It's awesome.

Also, I've been a bit brain dead and hit a mental block. It started with not knowing how to continue Butterflies and soon spread to not knowing what to do for Sunda. However Mental Ness has decided to help me out a bit by giving me a cute image to work with, so we'll see where that goes.

Anyway, anonymous review time!

riverraiden  
_Aww... that's just really cute. And I like how Ness decided to let go of the past there and choose the present time instead. He'll have to work at it a little more, but in due time, and with Lucas' help, he'll get through all right. Great job for a so-called filler!_

Indeed, Ness has started the difficult road to recovery. Though a small part of him will always love the Porky he used to know. Don't relax yet though, as Porky is still very much alive and now very, VERY angry that Ness has a new best friend...

miscat  
_yaaaaaaaay ness is back to normal! hmmmmm, pokeyxness... how can i see this happening? pokey, you cant break someones heart and then come back to them._

Porky is... not exactly sane. He can't seem to grasp that you can't just expect someone to instantly forgive you. Honestly, I really need to write a fic dealing with their background. It's adorable and tragic in my mind. And I do like Porky/Ness. It's so... deliciously wrong. Like Cartman/Kyle.

Roseal  
_Awwww! So flipen adorable! ( real Arthur just to lazy to log in)_

Indeed. It overloads my cute sensor. xD

Anyway, this next chapter will have drama. Wonderful drama. And will contain a couple that TheMysticalQ loves. Well, sort of. Also will contain a jealous Lucas. Mm... Jealousy...

I don't own anything. Seriously. Though I have played the game that's in this chapter. Not many people can say that. :3

* * *

There was a foot in his face, toes curling and uncurling just in front of his nose. Lucas couldn't help but wrinkle his nose, despite the fact that the owner of the foot had recently bathed and the appendage therefore smelled surprisingly pleasant. "Ness, could you possibly move your foot? I'm trying to watch this fight."

The capped boy ignored him, eyes glued to the game in his hands. Judging by the beeps, the blonde guessed that it was an old Game and Watch, a device that Mr. Game and Watch had first appeared on. With a sigh Lucas grabbed the foot, a rare wicked smile gracing his face as he ran his fingers along its bottom and the owner yelped in surprise. Within seconds Ness was laughing loudly, begging for mercy between shrieks as the furry pillow he was currently using yawned and rolled blue eyes.

Despite last night's turmoils and the meeting with Porky, things had never been better. Ness was the happiest Lucas had ever seen him, a feat that had to be seen to believe, and the timid boy had been amazed to realize that that happiness was dangerously contagious. Within minutes of returning to the mansion, the two psychics had been wide awake and joking over the dumbest things. In a way, it was almost as if they were normal teens, neither having saved the world or gone through events that would have crumpled an adult.

"L-Lucas!"

"Will you stop putting your foot in my face now?"

"Ok, j-juss stob! I-I-I can't beass!"

With one last assault the blonde dropped the foot and resumed watching the fight on the TV, a battle between Jigglypuff and Bowser. Beside him Ness panted, a ridiculous grin plastered on his face as he retrieved his game and resumed playing. His pillow stretched out a paw, an ear flicking as he watched over the boy's shoulder.

Honestly, why Link tended to nap on the couch as a huge ass wolf would never cease to puzzle Lucas.

On the screen, Jigglypuff leaped above the large kappa king, landing behind him and bursting into a song. It was amazing how great of a fighter the puffball pokemon was. Then again, all the girls in the mansion were amazing fighters. They sort of had to be when there were so few girls in the group. As Lucas silently applauded a brilliant combo the female managed to pull, he could hear the footsteps of people entering the room behind him, their voices confirming them to be Zelda and Jeff.

"I know Master Hand said we don't have to rush in deciding, but I just can't really think of anything." The Hyrulian princess sounded flustered and irritable, usually not a good sign with any female fighter. Lucas shared a glance with his friend and the wolf acting as pillow, confirming that they too could sense the mild hostility.

"It'll come to you eventually. Besides, based on what you told me, this Master Hand doesn't want to bring the topic up just yet. If Peach hadn't blabbed to you, you wouldn't be so tense." Jeff, unlike Zelda, sounded perfectly calm, his words no doubt spoken as he adjusted his glasses. As the two walked within sight, Lucas couldn't help but scowl in confusion as the other blonde gave Ness a look, relaying a message Lucas couldn't understand. Ness, in turn, quirked an eyebrow, his onyx eyes shifting between Jeff and the obviously upset Zelda, who continued to speak.

"But what if I still can't come up with something? Or what if I need to come up with two separate things because I have two different fighting styles?"

"Just relax," Jeff stated, his gaze once again on Ness. To add to Lucas' growing confusion the capped boy nodded, eyes once again on his game as his suited friend smirked and pretended to just notice the other. "Oh, hi Ness!"

In his lap, the timid psychic felt his fingers twitch, narrowing his eyes at how... flirtatious Jeff's tone suddenly was.

Ness blinked, feigning just as much notice for his bespectacled friend before returning the smirk. "'ey, Jeffie."

His fingers twitched again. This time, he could feel something settling in the pit of his stomach, an emotion he had never felt before and couldn't quite place. It only worsened as Jeff walked over, hands brushing against Ness' cap before settling on his shoulders. "Whatcha playing there, dear?"

Wait. Back up. 'Dear'? Since when did Jeff call Ness 'dear'? And why had Ness called Jeff 'Jeffie' in such a lofty tone? Were... Were they flirting? They weren't that close were they? Lucas swallowed, heart thudding in his chest as he continued to glare at the two with narrowed eyes. How could... But Ness had never mentioned... Dear Player, why was this making him feel so... angry?

Oblivious to the timid psychic or ignoring him completely, Ness lean his head back, an ear brushing against Jeff's suited wrist. "Cab Gab. Suhpisin'ly addictib."

"Mm... I've heard of that." His voice was a purr, grating against Lucas' strangely raw nerves. "I believe Mario told me about it when translating for Game and Watch."

"'eally now?"

"Could I maybe play, Nessie?"

For a split second, so short a time that Lucas questioned if he had really seen it, Ness' smirk fell as he stared up at Jeff. Not wanting to watch this scene anymore, the blonde glanced over at Zelda, who was watching the two now questionable friends curiously. Her irritation seemed to vanish at the moment, it seemed. Lucas sighed in relief before flinching as Ness made a very... suggestive hum. A sound he had never heard before that was strangely... He shuddered and shook his head. "H-Hi Zelda!"

The princess blinked stunning blue eyes that put Lucas' to shame. "Oh Lucas! I didn't notice you there!" She smiled, gently ruffling the younger boy's hair. "Did you sleep well? You must have since you weren't gathered at last night's... scuffle between Sonic and one of the Assist Trophies."

So it had been Sonic and Shadow who had provided them with a means to escape unnoticed. Lucas scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to keep a straight face as he lied through his teeth. He was fairly certain that despite his good mood, Ness still didn't want word of his homesickness spreading. "Y-Yeah. I had a lot of tiring fights yesterday and-and you know Ness. He can sleep through anything."

Zelda laughed, her eyes once again trailing to behind Lucas. "Jigglypuff sees that as a helpful weakness, you know. Maybe he should work on it."

"Maybe." The timid psychic resisted the urge to look where she was looking, shifting uncomfortable as Ness whispered something he couldn't quite make out in a tone that sent shivers done his spine. Some small part of him, a part that was currently smothered by the odd anger he was now feeling towards the boy in glasses, wanted to be in Jeff's place now, on the receiving end of that wonderful tone...

Dear Player, what was WRONG with him?

With a rushed goodbye, the blonde bolted from the room, ignoring the curious look he got from onyx eyes.

xXx

"Woah! Are you serious! ?"

Lucas nodded miserably, dodging a vinewhip from Red's Ivysaur and letting loose a half hearted psionic attack. The reptilian pokemon easily dodged, glancing over at his trainer for further instructions as the taller boy gaped at Lucas.

"They were seriously..." He trailed off, words failing him. The psychic boy merely stared at his feet, stick limp in his hands. To be honest, he was glad he and Red were in a training simulation and not an actual fight. If this were an actual fight, he would have probably died at least five times now in the last half hour. Usually when he was upset, he'd go to Ness and watch as the veteran fighter did everything he could to put a smile on his friend's face.

However, Lucas had never had Ness be the source of his bad mood before.

The anger from earlier was gone now, replaced by a strange sense of depression that the blonde had never experience before. And on top of that was confusion and embarrassment over his own thoughts during the capped boy's flirting with his suited friend. Why had he felt so angry and hostile toward Jeff? Felt like the boy in glasses was invading something that belonged to him? Why had he suddenly felt so... possessive?

He resisted a shudder. Anger was such a rare emotion for him. He didn't like it at all, how it made his blood boil as his stomach churned violently and his vision became red. Anger was dangerously close to hate and hate was one emotion that terrified Lucas to no end. It was the exact opposite of love. It was burning ice and rejection, lack of caring and compassion. Hate was what Porky had infected Nowhere Islands with and used to twist Claus into the emotionless Masked Man.

"Lucas! Hey, you still with me?"

"S-Sorry!" the shorter boy squeaked, jerking out of his thoughts and attempting to focus his thoughts on the pokemon trainer. He was being ridiculous. After all, Jeff had been Ness friend way before Lucas had. They had even saved their universe together and, without them, the blonde wouldn't even exist. Being angry at Jeff just for being closer to Ness was selfish and petty of him. Yet despite his common sense and logical thinking did nothing to banish the negative emotions burning within.

Red opened his mouth, but immediately afterwards shut it, looking behind Lucas rather than at him. "Oh. You're not going to like this..."

"Like what?"

The taller boy grinned sheepishly, raising a pokeball and returning Ivysaur. "I-I should get going. Battle with Pikachu. Good luck with Ness!" The words tumbled out of his mouth frantically, his feet already carrying him away. Confused Lucas turned to see what he had, eyes widening before an uncharacteristic growl left his throat.

Jeff.

The suited blonde calmly walked over to him, a hand in his pocket as he adjusted his glasses. "Do you have time?"

"What do you want?" The words were harsh, shocking Lucas in their intensity. As Jeff gave him a curious look the timid psychic covered his mouth with a wince. "I-I'm sorry, really, I don't know-"

"It's understandable after witnessing mine and Ness'... act."

"Act?" He couldn't help but gape at the other blonde, his mind trying to make sense of the word as Jeff nodded. "What... What do you mean act?"

"Well, it started during our adventures in saving the planet, shortly after I joined Ness and Paula. I'm sure he's told you about it, yes?" As Lucas nodded, the boy in glasses continued. "Anyway, we were in Saturn Valley and Paula was upset. A... rather amusing incident occurred and the result was Ness and I finding out that Paula... uh... how do I phrase this..."

As Jeff scowled, trying to find the words he wanted, Lucas was thinking over what he had said so far, blue eyes blinking as he slowly came to the realization. "Wait, so when you two were..." He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, feeling that flash of anger and something else for the briefest of seconds. "F-Flirting..."

"It's become a habit really. It doesn't mean anything. Ness and I just do it for fun and when around women who are upset." Jeff smiled, a warm gesture that had Lucas wondering how in the world he had been so angry at him earlier. "I'm not trying to steal him from you or anything."

Well that was a relief. The psychic sighed, feeling the frightening anger from before finally retreat to wherever it had come from. However, as he reflected on the other's words, the last sentence made him scowl. "Wait, what do you mean steal?"

"Don't you..." The smile from before twisted into a smirk, one that made Lucas step back slightly as his face heated. He didn't like that smirk. Something about it rubbed him the wrong way and seemed to promise more disliked things in the future. "I see. Anyway, Ness is wondering where you went. You should probably go and find him before his abandonment issues act up."

Wordlessly Lucas ran past Jeff, somewhat surprised that the statement hadn't phased him. Then again, with a 'friend' like Porky, it wasn't too much of a shock.

Jeff's smirk haunted him for the rest of the day.


	10. Chapter 10

Summer colds suck. As do, of all things, snowy summers. As in, summers where it snows. It's the weirdest thing. Really.

Anyway, anonymous review time!

miscat  
_okay so can we have ness, lucas, jeff and mr saturn appear and go on a little adventure? that would be awesome! thanks._

Sure! Like I've said, this fic has no set plot. So request all you want! Though not this chapter. This chapter (and possibly the next) is fluffy. Very fluffy. Short though, since it's setting up for a big event next chapter.

I can add Mr. Game and Watch now, since I've played one of his games (Crab Grab, it's REALLY rare and I'm still in slight shock I got to play an easily THREE HUNDRED DOLLAR GAME) and he doesn't technically have a personality. I might be able to add the Fire Emblem characters too. Key word being might. I have access to a Fire Emblem game, but I don't know if Ike and Marth are in it.

Also, I've made a Ness account on deviantART. He's currently answering any and all questions asked of him. If you have a question you want to ask Ness, just look for the deviant PKRockinNess.

I don't own anything. Not even a Mr. Saturn plushie.

* * *

He loved omelets.

That delicious scent, the feeling of warm, fluffy egg on your tongue, the explosion of egg, meat, vegetable, and cheese in your mouth as you chewed slowly, savoring each bite... Sure, Smash Mansion omelets tended to pale in comparison to his mother's omelets. But despite that, an omelet was still an omelet and the blonde couldn't help but 'squeal like a gihl' (as Ness put it) when the beautiful treats were on the menu.

Currently he was enjoying his favorite omelet, one with everything you could possibly cram into it without overpowering the egg flavor, as Ness and Sonic were discussing something. Lucas wasn't entirely sure what. Once the omelet had hit his tongue he had started to tune the world out until everything around him was a dull hum.

"Lucas!" One of the hums suddenly became clear, a hand shaking his shoulder roughly. Swallowing the morsel in his mouth before he could choke on it, the timid boy glanced over at his two friends. The shaker, Ness, stared at him, a slight pout on his features. "Wehn' you lissenin' to me?"

"Uh..."

The capped boy facepalmed, the hedgehog next to him bursting into laughter. "Lucas!" Ness practically whined, his grip on Lucas' shoulder tightening.

"Y-You were talking to Sonic!"

"Sen I was talkin' to you!" The other psychic huffed, crossing his arms and glaring down at Lucas' half eaten omelet. "You ahways space out when you eat sose."

"Well you always space out when you eat steak." Lucas couldn't help but snicker, covering his mouth to stiffle the sound. To anyone watching the scene, it would almost look like Ness was jealous of the attention the blonde's breakfast was receiving. Hell, maybe that was why Sonic was currently laughing his lungs out, occasionally stopping to gasp for breath before breaking into bellows again. Ignoring Ness' glare and Sonic's fit, Lucas resumed eating his breakfast. "So what were you saying?"

"Sonic inbited us oba fo'a seh night." There was an edge to the voice, onyx eyes still narrowed at the food on Lucas' plate. "Lucahio is doin' somesin' wiss Pikachu, so 'ee's suggessin' a game ma'ason."

Lucas paused in mid-bite, thinking over Ness' words. He wasn't much of a gamer. He'd never even heard of video games until Porky had radically changed the Nowhere Islands. Still, it would be rude to deny the offer. And the idea of sleeping in their room alone... No, he did not like that idea at all. Resisting a shiver he popped the forkful of egg in his mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing. "If-If you want, then sure. Who, um, else is going to be there?"

"Sadow. Mossly 'cause Sonic's makin' 'im socialize. And Jeff. Toon Link, too."

So six people. That didn't seem so bad, though Shadow still scared him with his cold nature and overall negative vibe. "And what time would we go there?"

"Man, Lucas! You ask too many questions!" Sonic complained, rolling his eyes as he poked Lucas' chest. "That's something chicks do, Lucas. You secretly a chick or something?"

"N-No!"

"Knock it off, Sonic. Lucas is juss... um..."

"Girly."

"No, matuh. Lucas is matuh."

The hedgehog snorted, glancing over at the table where Lucario was currently talking to Shadow. With a grin he raised his voice, just loud enough for the other hedgehog to hear. "Mature is for old timers and guys with their spines up their ass!"

"Is that so?"

Lucas jumped, eyes widening as he noticed the darker being's seat was now empty and Shadow's voice was now behind him. One hedgehog seemingly being able to teleport had been bad enough. Now it seemed that they had two.

Sonic merely shrugged, waving the Assist Trophy off with feigned disinterest. "So what if it is?"

Things were going to get ugly. Fast. Finishing his meal, Lucas grabbed Ness and muttered a goodbye to the cocky speedster as he drug the now complaining boy outside. No sooner had the door to the dining area closed when a loud crash was heard, followed by insults and harsh words.

"Are they seriously at it again?"

"Monin' Jeff!" Ness greeted, his complaints of wanting to see the fight dying as a smile overcame his face. For some reason he was hanging off of Lucas' arm, an act that made the blonde's face heat up in a blush. Why was Ness being so clingy suddenly? He... He hadn't really been jealous of Lucas' omelet, had he? The very thought of it was completely ridiculous.

The suited boy smiled, adjusting his glasses. Lucas was now certain it was some sort of habit. "Think we're still partaking in tonight's activities?"

"You know 'ow sose two ah. We sow ow'a fendsip by pay fihtting, sey sow seyas by fighting."

"So a yes?" As the raven haired boy nodded, Jeff continued, briefly glancing at Lucas before looking back at Ness. "Very well. See you then."

xXx

Ness was still being clingy.

There really was no other way to describe it. Everywhere Lucas went, the capped boy was right at his heels, one of the blonde's arms held captive in his grasp. The only time he was Ness free was when he was fighting and even then he wasn't completely free of the other, as Ness somehow managed to find ways to get into the same fights he was in. Sometimes they would be on a team and Ness would make sure he was within three feet of Lucas. Other times they would be on opposite teams or in free for alls and the more confident psychic would become very grab happy.

Eventually it was the fight before they were to go to Sonic's for his gaming marathon. Pikachu and Ganondorf had already been defeated, leaving the two psychics facing each other with one stock left each. By now the blonde was irritated, attacking Ness from a distance to avoid his overuse of grabs. "PK Fire!" Ness jumped, avoiding the attack and landing behind Lucas. As predicted he grabbed the other, throwing him to the ground before dousing him in fire and grabbing him again. Irritation at its limit, the timid one snapped.

"Ness, what the hell has gotten into you! ?"

"Will you stob spacin' out oba stubid omelets now! ?"

Stunned silence. Dear Player, Ness had been jealous of... But that was... "Player, Ness! You've been smothering me all day over a stupid omelet! ? That's so-"

Ness telekinetically throwing him over his back interrupted him, the powerful back throw instantly sending him beyond the blast line. As he re-materialized back at the mansion, Ness appearing next to him, he barely heard the other boy mutter his name. "Ness..."

"Watt?" There was that edge again. With the reason now known, the blonde found himself giggling, a sound that morphed into laughter as the two made their way to Sonic's room. "Watt! ?"

"Ness, you're... Oh Player, you're being so..."

"So watt! ?"

"Childish!" The laughter grew worse at the out burst, Lucas feeling tears in the corners of his eyes. For once, it was not Lucas', but Ness' face that sported that cursed blush, the capped boy sulking and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Stob sat!"

"Ness, you're jealous over food, for Player's sake!"

A growl was all the timid boy heard before he was pinned against the wall, his vision filled with onyx.

Time slowed, Lucas' heart racing as the laughter ceased. Ness was close. Extremely close. He couldn't remember a time when their faces in particular had been this close, noses touching and breath mingling. Sure, Ness would get in his face when begging, but he always kept his distance, allowing some loose respect of the blonde's personal space when it came to his head. They were so close now that all Lucas had to do was lean forward a bit and their lips would... Their lips already were...

A cat whistle made him crash back down to earth. "Hey! Save it for after the games, love birds!"

"Damnit Faker, must you constantly annoy and pester when you catch people partaking in intimate activities?"

"Big words from an old geezer! What, you swallow a dictionary as a baby up in that space station?"

As the two bickered Ness quickly pulled away, a chill settling around Lucas from the lack of the other psychic's body heat. "'m sah-ee. I... I guess I was bein' a bit... Childiss." He paused, scratching the back of his neck. "I, uh, didn' anga you too much, 'ight?"

"R-Right..." Why did he want to resume the position they had been in before Sonic had interrupted? He'd felt so... excited. Eager. Wanted Ness to do whatever he wanted then and there. Was it because he wanted to be a good friend to Ness? It had to be. The alternative was too... Too what exactly? Frightening? Impossible? He didn't even know how he felt towards Ness now, even less how Ness felt towards him.

"Lucas!"

He blinked, realizing that somehow he was in Sonic's room and Ness was currently trying to get him to accept one of the controllers. Jeff and Shadow were talking over a couple sodas while Toon Link and Sonic already had controllers in their hands. Apparently he was being forced to make a fool of himself right away rather than later. Wonderful. He couldn't help but give the other boy a pathetic look. "I'm no good at this..."

"You 'ab me on you'a team. Seya's nosin' to wah-ee about!" At least Ness wasn't acting angry towards him anymore. That was a good sign, right?

Lucas gulped, the plastic controller shaking in his hand. "B-But what if I'm so bad that I make you lose?"

"I don' caya about losin'. 'm in it fo'a fun." A weight on his back informed the blonde that his capped friend was leaning on him, arms lazily slung over his arms in a half hug. Already his cheeks were heating up, heart pounding again at the closeness.

"Uh, Ness? Remember our discussion on personal space?" Jeff's voice sounded, distant in the blonde's embarrassed state. The weight only grew more noticeable as Ness rested a cheek on Lucas' shoulder while glancing at Jeff. "Ness..."

"But I like 'uggin'."

"You're not hugging, you're leaning."

"Like leanin' too."

"I think you're embarrassing Lucas."

"If 'ee was uncomfo'tabo, 'ee'd tell me."

"Will you guys stop talking and start playing already?" Sonic interrupted, a fake whine accompanying his worlds along with an equally fake pout. Ness nodded and sat up, his chin now on the timid boy's head as he held his controller to the side.

Well, at least he was letting Lucas see what he was doing.


	11. Chapter 11

Mm... Don't have much to say. It's a half hour to midnight as I type this author's note that no one is ever going to read and I can't focus my mind on math. So... You get the big event. The turning point. Things change from here, at least on the emotional level. And it has a somewhat... darker feel. Involves a bit of my own fanon based on what Buzz Buzz told Ness after defeating Starman Junior.

Also, I do have plans for next chapter. Sadly, miscat will still have to wait for her adventure, however I do have an idea for it which involves elements from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon... But next chapter I correct a mistake I made since chapter one AND play with an idea that's been amusing me for a while now. TheMysticalQ (she's become my idea bouncer for this fic it seems) said that the idea amuses her too. So we will have to see if everyone else is as amused.

I don't own anything. I do own a nice, second hand DS now.

* * *

This had to be the most embarrassing moment in his entire life.

Lucas found himself in Lucario's bed for the night. Like the beds in his and Ness' room, this one was rather large and comfortable, with black sheets and pillows. A few blue hairs could be found if you looked closely, but it was rather obvious that someone had tried to clean and vacuum the bed in respect of whoever would be sleeping in it while the canine pokemon was away.

That wasn't embarrassing though. No, what made this so embarrassing and awkward that he was sure his face was glowing bright red in the dark was who he was sharing the bed with and how they were cuddling him like a teddy bear.

Ness was **cuddling** him.

**Ness** was cuddling **him**.

The blonde whimpered, biting his lip as the currently uncapped boy nuzzled his side. He honest to Player had no idea what to do. Everything up until this point had been fine. After hours of gaming and accusing each other of cheating, everyone had started falling victim to sleep. Since there were only two beds, logic had declared that people were going to share and two unlucky people would sleep on the floor. Jeff and Toon Link offering to take the floor and the hedgehogs not wanting to hurt anyone with their sharp spines had led to Ness offering to share with Lucas. Back then, it hadn't seemed like that bad of an offer.

No one had told him how cuddly Ness was in his sleep.

Ness sighed, mumbling and tightening his grip around the other's waist. Lucas couldn't help but think it was adorable how the more confident boy loved to show affection in his sleep. He just didn't like being the focus of that attention. It confused him greatly, making his mind race as he tried to block out the thoughts and realizations now overcoming his mind.

He wasn't supposed to think Ness was cute. They were friends. Friends didn't do that. Yet... Yet Ness had called him cute first. So technically calling Ness cute after Ness called him cute made it ok, right? Evened things out a bit?

He wanted nothing more than to cuddle Ness back and play with the raven hair usually confined to the other's precious baseball cap. To nuzzle his head and place gentle kisses on his forehead, nose, cheeks, lips...

**Friends didn't do that!**

Frustrated with his thoughts Lucas buried his hands in his hair, gritting his teeth as he tried desperately to control his emotions. The last thing he wanted was for Ness to wake up and ask what was wrong. How was he supposed to explain the strange urges and desires he kept feeling around his friend? Urges and desires that you weren't supposed to feel around your friend?

"Take it you can't sleep?"

Lucas jumped, eyes darting desperately around the room before spotting Jeff leaning against Lucario's bed and working on something he couldn't recognize in the near darkness. "Wha-What are you doing up, Jeff?"

"Trying to fix something." The suited boy's voice was calm, his green eyes glued to his work rather than looking at his fellow blonde. "And what are you doing up?"

"C-Can't sleep." It wasn't a lie. Ness reassured him of that by shifting slightly, a leg brushing against Lucas' and further muddling his thoughts. As he squeaked in surprise, the boy with glasses chuckled.

"Yeah, Ness really likes to cuddle whoever's sleeping with him. He's not fully aware of it though, so mentioning it will only confuse him."

"You-You could have warned me!" The words came out as a whine, the timid psychic's breath hitching slightly as the sleeping boy's hand trailed a bit too close to somewhere it shouldn't be. Jeff continued to chuckle, a mouth rising to stiffle the sound.

"And what? Make you chicken out of sleeping with him? It's pretty obvious you like him. You should be thanking me for setting up the events that got you in the same bed as Ness."

"Setting up...?" Confusion laced Lucas' voice, eyes narrowing questioningly at Jeff. "What do you mean setting up?"

"Well, it started with making sure omelets were served a day early. This would guarantee that you would eat them in front of Ness, since the two of you eat together. Then came planting the idea in someone's head to have a sleepover of some sort. I lucked out when Lucario decided to take Pikachu somewhere tonight. After all that, I just had to wait for Ness' love of attention to make him jealous and clingy so you'd stop being so naive and blind to the truth."

Wait, so the entirety of the days events had been the doing of Jeff? Lucas merely stared, baffled at why the other would go to such lengths for... "What truth?"

"You can't seriously be that dense."

"I'm not dense!"

"You claim it's your favorite thing, yet when you end up falling right into it, you're as blind as a Mr. Batty in bright sunlight."

"Falling into what?"

"Love, idiot."

If possible his blush deepened, mouth opening and shutting as he tried to think of something to say. He... He didn't... He couldn't... Him and Ness? The idea made his head spin as he tried to wrap his mind around it. Yes, Ness was an amazing and wonder friend that was very dear to him and he loved very much... but did Lucas really love him in the way Jeff was suggesting? It wasn't an unpleasant idea... quite the opposite in fact... He shook his head, banishing the thought. "I-I-I don't l-love Ness like th-that!"

"You got mad when Ness and I were play flirting. That's jealousy. Ness got mad when you showed more attention to your omelets. Jealousy. I saw the scene Sonic interrupted. If he hadn't have, what would you have down?"

"I..." What would he have done? They had been so close at that moment, their lips just barely brushing each other. If Sonic hadn't have been there, they would have... would have... "K-Kissed."

Something made a click and soft thump as it was set down, the suited blonde sighing as he leaned his head back to look at the timid one. "Ness isn't going to make the first move, Lucas."

Blue eyes blinked. "H-He won't?" But that seemed like Ness' thing. The capped boy had more than enough confidence for the two of them. If Lucas... did love Ness, he wanted the other psychic to make that first move, to show him that he felt the same way and wanted to go that one step further... Dear Player, the very thought of such a thing happening was enough to set his heart roaring in his ears.

"It's obvious Ness loves you too. My test with the omelets confirmed it. But you're his friend first. He's not sure if you feel the same way about him and he's oblivious to small hints like blushing and awkwardness towards his actions. He doesn't want to lose you if you don't feel the same way. If you can't accept him for his feelings." Jeff paused, gaze on the ceiling. "It'd be Porky all over again for him."

Porky.

Lucas clenched his fist, his teeth gritting. It all went back to Porky eventually, didn't it? He remembered the memory he'd been shown, the emotions that had raced through him, the heart breaking hurt that had shattered him when Porky had rejected his 'friend' for being different, for changing. "Why...?" The single word had so many more words following it. Why had Porky been so cruel? Why had he been unable to accept Ness? Why did Ness not hate him despite all the evil he had done?

"Is PSI accepted back in your village?"

Lucas glanced at Jeff again, taken aback by the question. "It's considered a Magypsy thing. People with PSI are believed to be blessed."

"Ness' home country, Eagleland, has a different view. PSI was a trait humans were introduced to by aliens attacking the planet. First impressions are everything you know. It was logical to assume psionic abilities were evil and destructive."

"B-But PSI is wonderful! Sure, some of it can hurt... but most of it heals and assists!"

"Like I said, first impressions are everything. You know what city Ness comes from, right?"

Lucas hesitated briefly, trying to figure out himself where this conversation was going. "Onett..."

"Onett is considered one of the most anti-psionic towns in Eagleland, probably because of the fact they live on the other side of the mountain that Podunk is close to. Podunk was where the very first attack happened. And Ness, who possesses the strongest PSI I've ever seen, lived there. Think about it."

_"Peebo don' 'eally like me."_

Lucas shuddered, Jeff's words making Ness' conversation with Porky so long ago suddenly take on a clearer meaning. People hadn't liked Ness. He hadn't understood why, not wanting to ask the capped boy about it. He couldn't help but wonder if his friend had assumed that the blonde would know what he meant because he thought Lucas had dealt with the same thing.

An image of a redhead who shared his face, a twisted grin gracing his features as the world swirled and melted around him.

_"Everyone's waiting for you, Lucas. Waiting to throw rocks at you, and spit on you, and make your life Hell. Who's everyone? **Everyone you love**."_

Tanetane Island. While he could agree with Duster and Kumatora that they had had no choice but to eat the strange mushrooms, he never wanted to relive the experience again. The hallucinations had been horrible, digging into his subconscious and dragging out his fears to make him face them against his will...

He hadn't realized he had started trembling until Ness mumbled something and took his hand in an attempt to comfort him, falling back asleep shortly afterwards. As he stared at his friend he couldn't help but tear up, his own hand gripping the other's. "He... He lived my nightmare... Ev-Everyone you love... hurting you..."

"Well, not everyone. He had his mom and sister. And his dog King. That's probably why he gets homesick. He found so much love in his home when the world outside was frightening and cruel that being away from his source of comfort hurts." Jeff stopped before shaking his head. "What I'm trying to say is that Ness won't ever make the first move. He's too scared of losing another friend to chance ruining things. If you want to make the big leap, to become more than just friends... You need to make the first move. Show him that everything's ok."

"B-But I can't!" He lacked the confidence to do such a bold action. Just thinking about telling Ness about possible feelings he may or may not possessed was enough to make the timid blonde sick to his stomach. Ness had to be the one to take that plunge. Lucas couldn't do it without knowing he would survive in the end. It was one great big risk and he tended to avoid risks.

"So you're both scared," Jeff hummed, adjusting his glasses. "Well you don't have to rush anything, I guess. Take your time and tell him when you're ready. The important thing is that you know that you do, in fact, love Ness." He smirked, that smirk that seemed to promise an uncomfortable time for Lucas. "I want you to admit it. Right now. Not to me, but to yourself."

"A-A-Admit what?"

"You know what. Now do it."

"B-But-"

"You're only hurting yourself if you don't admit to and accept it. Besides, Ness is dead to the world now. He won't hear you."

Lucas gulped, staring down as his raven haired friend and feeling his heart resume its frantic pounding. Oh dear Player, Jeff was right. How had this happened? This would either turn out really good... or really bad. And he would only know if he took a chance, something he was much too scared to do. Clenching his eyes shut he tightened his grip on Ness' hand. "I... I l-love... I-I l-l-love..."

"You love who?" The question was asked in a sing-song voice, a teasing smirk no doubt dancing on Jeff's face. Lucas bit his lip, inhaling shakily.

"I-I love Ness!"

"There. That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Lucas blinked his eyes open, head strangely light as the world seemed to spin. He... He loved Ness. He couldn't exactly take that back now. A sense of relief washed through him as he sighed. "No. It... It wasn't."

"You should probably sleep now. You have that team battle with Ness against Bowser and Wario, right?"

"Right."

The suited blonde nodded, sitting up once more and returning to whatever he had been working on. Lucas leaned back into the bed, hesitating before carefully hugging Ness closer and awkwardly cuddling back.

Admitting to himself was one thing. Admitting to Ness would be an entirely different story.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, life has gotten a little hectic. But I now have a game of Soul Silver! If any of you readers have a copy of a generation four game (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Heart Gold, and Soul Silver), I'd be happy to trade or battle. I'll even take trading requests (ex. a request for a male Pichu with a hardy nature or a female Cyndaquil with a mild nature). Battle wise, I'll admit I'm not too far into the game and my Pokemon are around level 25. But I'd still be willing to battle!

Roseal (she didn't log in, so responding here)  
_All this fluff is sophacating me! I seriously love Jeff right now!_

I had this planned from the very beginning, since I decided to do a scene of Ness cuddling Lucas. Jeff wants his friend to be happy and Lucas is the kind of guy who would make that possible.

miscat (only partial review)  
_lucas making the first move?i've seen only this in 2 fics; this and he said she said (which i highly recommend reading).be brave lucas!you can do it!_

Well with the way I've written Ness in this, it only makes sense that Lucas would have to make the first move. Like Jeff said, Ness is terrified that he'll scare Lucas away if he makes a move and Lucas doesn't like him like that. As for He Said, She Said... I'm not a huge fan of it. Nothing against the story or the author (I LOVE her other things), but it's not the fic for me.

Also, I promise that next chapter will have your adventure, miscat. And sometime during that adventure, our heroes will meet up with a few faces they never saw coming... This chapter though, I fix a huge mistake I made since the beginning of Sunda and provide an excuse for it. Because random ideas amuse me.

I don't own anything or anyone in this fic. Just the fanon I throw in that amuses me.

* * *

Days passed. Things had fallen back to normal, or at least as normal as they could be in Smash Mansion.

Lucas sighed, staring at his reflection in his and Ness' shared bathroom. Despite finally admitting to himself that he loved his fellow psychic, he still couldn't bring himself to take the leap and make that all important first move that would change their relationship forever. The blonde found himself too terrified to do anything when the opportunity presented itself, his body freezing in the spot every time he attempted to take the capped boy's hand when walking down a hall or offering to share the last serving of dinner with only one fork to share. And flat out saying "I love you Ness!" was out of the question. He'd collapse before the first word left his mouth.

He wished Ness would just make the first move for him. But if it was this hard for him, it had to be ten times worse for the raven haired boy. Ness had lost a friend last time he had trusted someone enough to open up to them. From their experience back in the Ruined Zoo, it was obvious to the timid one that what had happened had had a huge impact on Ness. He had been burned once by rejection; human instinct would make him avoid it as hard as possible. Meaning that Jeff was right and Ness would never make that first move that Lucas was too scared to make himself.

"Why did you have to hurt him like that?" Lucas whined, knowing fully well that Porky couldn't, and most likely wouldn't, answer his question. He didn't want to have all the pressure on him. Being with Ness, he had grown used to the veteran fighter doing all the talking and fighting for the both of them.

With one last look at his reflection Lucas left, flipping the light switch off and shutting the door behind him. "You ready for our team fight against Bowser and Wario?"

"No!"

Blue eyes blinked, looking up at the panicked tone. Ness was currently tearing the room apart, throwing his clothes out of his dresser as he searched through its contents. The blonde couldn't help but scowl in confusion and worry, stepping to the side to avoid a pair of boxers. "What's wrong? What are you looking for?"

The other psionic user ignored him, swearing under his breath as he continued his frantic search. As Lucas opened his mouth to repeat his question, he found himself interrupted by something bumping against his leg, a glance down revealing that Ness' boxers from earlier has taken on a life of their own. "Dark is world, zoom!"

"Dark is... What?" Feeling the blush quickly taking over his face, Lucas awkwardly nudged the walking boxers, which toppled over and kicked at the air with stubby legs. Slowly the timid boy recognized the being the appendages belonged to and tugged the creature free before turning to the still flustered Ness. "Why is there a Mr. Saturn in our room?"

The capped boy paused in his search, his back to Lucas. "Wanted a pet."

"Wanted a pet."

"'ey, you 'ab 'ope 'nake. I wanted a pet too."

("I am not a pet!") The Rope Snake in question poked its head out of Lucas' pocket, its eyes narrowing at Ness. ("I happen to be a valuable member of this team!")

"All you do is seep in Lucas' pocket until 'ee needs to gab someone."

("And I'm very good at it! Right, kid?")

"R-Right," Lucas muttered, watching Ness resume his searching. They were going to be late if they didn't leave now... "Ness, can't what you're looking for wait? We need to go now."

"Fibe mo'a minutes!"

"No! N-Ness, if we-we don't hurry, we'll get in huge trouble!"

("Just drag him to the fight,") Rope Snake grumbled, slipping back into the blond's pocket. Lucas chose to ignore him, walking up to his frantic friend and reaching to touch his shoulder...

A large knock on the door made both psychics jump. "Hurry it up! We don't have all day!"

Bowser. Lucas gulped, unconsciously hugging the Mr. Saturn still in his arms. The Koopa King scared him, almost as much as Wario. He hadn't been looking forward to a fight against the two scariest fighters in the mansion.

Swearing and the slamming of a dresser drawer caused Lucas to jump again, watching as Ness stormed off.

xXx

Lucas had to admit, he was surprised at how well he was doing.

The blonde sidestepped as Bowser swung at him, countering with his stick before jumping back and throwing a PK Fire. As the attack hit he couldn't help but give a small smile of pride, lashing out with Rope Snake and grabbing the koopa before throwing him behind him. Before Bowser could recover Lucas focused his thoughts. "PK Thunder!" As the electricity was summoned he guided it into himself, colliding with his opponent and knocking him off into the abyss below. First life down. His smile grew wider, pride swelling at how he had managed to take the first life of the match.

He glanced over at Ness and Wario, his smile faltering. Ness had been worrying him since the match started. The capped psychic was attacking recklessly, preferring physical attacks over using his PSI. This wasn't normal behavior from all the fights Lucas remembered; Ness style was to whittle his opponent's health down from a distance with PK Thunders and Fires, only straying from that approach if his opponent was fast and small enough to dodge and jump out of the way. Wario was neither fast nor small though. So why was Ness avoiding his usual tactics?

A roar sounded behind Lucas and he quickly jumped, barely dodging a rush from Bowser. "Pay attention!"

"S-Sorry!" the timid boy squeaked, backing away slightly. Instead of replying, the koopa looked over at his partner, his red eyes narrowing under his bushy eyebrows. Come to think of it, Bowser was acting strange too. His attention seemed more on Ness and Wario's fight, a curious and thoughtful look laying claim to his face. With a sigh the blonde realized that he probably wasn't doing any better, his attacks only hitting flawlessly because his opponent was distracted.

Wario laughed, an obvious taunt. A growl of irritation was Ness' response, the capped psychic finally throwing a psionic spark towards his opponent. "PK Fiya!" To Lucas' surprise however, Wario was out of range even before the words had left Ness' mouth, a feat that had to be impossible for the fatter adult. Beside Lucas Bowser scowled, letting out a growl of his own. The blonde couldn't question the emotional change however, the next series of events happening so fast that his head spun.

Ness threw another PK Fire that was miraculously dodged way before Wario should have seen it coming. Wario retaliated by grabbing Ness and throwing him away. Ness tried summoning a PK Thunder to hit himself with it, only for Wario to kick him off the edge before Ness could even say the 'K' in 'PK'. And as Ness tried to recover he was hit again, falling helplessly into the pit. As Wario taunted, he was suddenly attacked by his own partner, the koopa roaring in his face before throwing him to the ground. Confused Lucas barely noticed Ness reappearing and landing next to him, instead watching as Wario picked himself up. "What the hell was that for! ?"

"You were reading him!" Bowser snapped, smoke leaking from his mouth in his anger. Lucas had never seen him this mad before, not even when fighting with his rival Mario.

Wario rolled his eyes, grinning wickedly at the two psychic boys in a way that sent chills down the timid one's spine. "So what if I was?"

"I told you not to read him, you idiot!"

"Hey, this is a fight, right? You're supposed to take advantage of weaknesses and flaws!"

"Flaws?" Lucas blinked in confusion, turning towards his partner. "What are they talking..." His voice trailed off however, his eyes widening as his confusion deepened. "N-Ness, your... your eyes..."

Ness remained silent, face distant as he watched Bowser and Wario. His eyes were no longer the onyx color that Lucas had grown to know in his time at the mansion. Now they were a stunning violet, so rich and deep in color that the blonde was finding himself getting lost in them. When had they changed color? Had they always been violet? But he distinctly remembered them being black...

"No contest! ?" Wario exclaimed, voice seemingly far away. "Just because the runt forgot his stupid contacts! ?"

Contacts?

Reality crashed back and Lucas turned to face the adult, voice shy and hesitant as he spoke. "Contacts?"

An evil smirk crossed Wario's face, causing the boy next to Lucas to tense up. "Oh, he didn't tell you? How people can read you two like an open book during fights?"

Lucas gulped, chest suddenly hurting for a reason he couldn't explain. "N-No..."

The older fighter laughed. "Really now? No doubt it was so that he'd have an edge on you!"

"Shut up, Wario," Bowser snarled, voice low and dangerous. His partner wasn't phased in the least as he continued.

"Psychic's like you two have... special eyes. You know that lame saying about eyes being windows? Well in your case, they really are windows! Just by looking in your eyes your opponent knows which little elemental trick you're going to attempt and can react before you even say your cute little catch phrase. Ness here uses his stupid contacts to hide it in fights. I wonder why he never bothered to offer you a pair so that you wouldn't be so easily read..."

He trailed off, still smirking widely. Lucas found it hard to breath, heart beating frantically as he turned back to Ness. "Why..."

"I'll tell you why!" Wario interrupted, his voice smug. "He's scared that you're a better fighter than him! He screwed you over because he thinks he's better than you."

"N-Ness..." Vision blurring, chest tightening. The capped boy remained silent still, not looking at Lucas. As Wario started to snicker the blonde's hands curled into fists, small frame trembling. Suddenly he felt angry. Angry and betrayed. No one had told him about this 'reading' thing. He hadn't even known when he first got here. Yet Ness had known. Ness had known all along and had never told him...

Seconds later and he found himself shoving Ness as hard as he could, the capped boy losing his balance and falling to the ground. "You-You jerk! All this time I've been losing so many fights because you never told me people can see what I'm going to do!"

Ness' onyx... no, violet eyes were wide, voice shaking as he spoke. "L-Lucas, I-"

"You never told me! I didn't know and you never told me! You let me keep thinking it was my fault I kept losing!"

"But-"

"Why! ? Why didn't you tell me! ?" The tears were streaming now, Lucas' voice wavering as he fought back sobs. "You said you were my friend! Why didn't you tell me! ?"

Ness fell silent, cheeks flaring into a blush. The sight caught the blonde off guard for a few moments, his anger waning before he growled and grabbed the front of the other's shirt. He couldn't even think straight anymore in his sea of anger and hurt. "Why! ?"

The blush worsened as Ness mutter, eyes looking at anything but Lucas. Just as the usually timid one was about to ask again though Ness looked him directly in the eye, captivating the other with those strange, unnatural eyes. "I... I-I like yo'a eyes..."

Silence. The anger now fully waned, Lucas's mind processing what the other had said. Slowly, his own face went red, his grip relaxing completely on the other's shirt. "Wha-What?" However as soon as he was free Ness bolted, vanishing from the stage with a psionic teleport and leaving Lucas to wonder just what Ness had meant.


	13. Chapter 13

Well it's 10:30 pm here. I'm wide awake and feel pretty damn hyper for some reason. So the result is all my loverly readers get an update! Woo!

Anyway... Review response time!

miscat  
_*GASP* you can tell what a psi user is going to use by looking through their eyes! (no wonder why i feel like im being read) what a way to cheat. good thing the pigmask didnt know this. hey wait a minute! how does wario know about this anyway? (damn that pedo) wait, thatt must also mean that wario stole nessu's contacts! (wait, how'd he get in their room?)_

Why yes you can. As for how Wario found out, it's not actually some huge secret. Everyone who's faced Lucas or is a veteran fighter knows. It's just that some people choose to use it to their advantage (like Wario) while others either ignore it or avoid eye contact (Bowser). As for why no one told Lucas, they assumed he already knew and just chose to fight with the handicap. As for the missing contacts, the thought that Wario stole them never crossed my mind. However, it is possibly that Wario somehow stole them...

Roseal  
_X3 poor Lucas, this all problebly driving him crazy. And ness is problebly either user or guilty. There's so many emotions ablaze!_

Not sure what you mean by the user part, but Ness is indeed feeling guilty. Only time will tell if this change of events will hurt his and Lucas' potential relationship!

Storyperv  
_I'll have to agree with roseal! There's a lot of drama and emotion going about!_

I do so love my drama. Mm... delicious drama...

I don't own anything relating to the Mother series or the movie described in this chapter. It's a pretty damn good movie though.

* * *

He couldn't believe it.

Lucas stabbed at his omelet, scowling into space as he chewed. The once mouthwatering treat was tasteless in his anger, the blonde finding it a chore to eat the food he loved more than any other edible substance in the world. His usual table mates had long ago settled somewhere else, the bad mood of the psychic scaring them off. Lucas really couldn't care less, however. All that was on his mind was what he had recently found out.

All this time, when he thought he was just a horrible fighter, he was only doing bad because others could predict his actions. And all this time, the capped boy had known and hadn't ever told him.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Blue eyes narrowed at Jeff as he sat down anyway, neatly digging into his meal of a sandwich and chips. The suited boy probably had known as well, right? After all, he and Ness had been together for who knows how long saving the world... As Jeff reached for his soda, Lucas couldn't help but speak up, voice sharp with anger and pain. "Why didn't he tell me?"

A shrug. "You'd have to ask him. To be honest, I didn't know about the eyes giving away what attack you and Ness use. Being shy, eye contact is something I usually avoid." The boy in glasses took a sip of his beverage, setting the glass down gently. "Do you know where Ness is? The way he just vanished like that has me worried. And he hasn't shown up for dinner."

Lucas scoffed, stabbing his barely eaten omelet again. "Why should I care?" Ness had lied to him in a way by not telling him something that would change the horrible luck he had with battling. At the moment, he really didn't want to deal with the other boy.

Jeff sighed heavily, his green eyes focusing on Lucas. "Look, it's good to see you angry rather than flustered and upset. Seeing that you really do possess a spine pleases me, and probably the others in this mansion, greatly. But you're also being ridiculous. Yes, Ness kept vital information from you. Yes, you have every right to be angry with him. But not bothering to get the full reason from him and instead shunning him completely is childish and harmful to your relationship. You love him, yes?"

Lucas looked to the side moodily, knowing by the heat on his face that lying was not an option. "Yes..."

"And Ness loves you. Now, do you remember why you have to make the first move?"

"Because Ness won't." The answer was curt and short, the blonde's voice still sporting a sharp edge. Jeff sighed again as he adjusted his glasses.

"Ness is scared that he'll ruin what you two have if he tells you. And the way you're acting now only makes that fear even worse. In fact, Ness is probably avoiding you now because he thinks he's ruined your friendship."

"He did!" Lucas snapped, slamming his fork to the table as he glared at Jeff. The eyes of the other fighters fell on him briefly, though in his rage he barely noticed. "He kept me in the dark, Jeff! I lost so many fights and he never told me why I was losing! Friends don't do that to each other!"

"You should be talking to him about this. Not me."

"I don't want to talk to him!"

"Fine. Be just like Porky and refuse to accept Ness' actions without asking him why."

The blonde psychic winced, his anger shattering as Jeff's words hit his ears. "I... I'm not like him."

"You're rejecting him without hearing him out. He's hurt now, and probably feeling awful for not telling you sooner."

"He should've told me at the very beginning!"

"Go find him. Ask why he wouldn't tell you."

Lucas shoved his plate away, rising to his feet. "Fine! I'll ask! But only because I'm not like _him_!"

"Then prove it," Jeff stated, a small smirk tugging at his lips. Lucas ignored the expression, storming out of the dining area.

xXx

He eventually found Ness in one of the lounge rooms.

The capped boy was sprawled out on a couch, his attention captured by the TV hanging from the wall. Lucas couldn't really say he recognized the movie currently playing. He'd never been one for movies in the first place, as they reminded him of the Happy Boxes Porky had used to brainwash the people in his village for three years. But one of the two actors on the screen was singing, the word love catching his interest and temporarily dousing his anger.

_If I fell in love with you_  
_Would you promise to be true_  
_And help me_  
_Understand_  
_'Cause I've been in love before_  
_And I found that love was more_  
_Than just_  
_Holding hands_

It took him a while to realize that Ness was actually singing along with the girl, barely loud enough for Lucas to hear. Yet there was no mistaking that Eaglelandian accent, the lack of R's and surplus of S's standing out from the actor's flawless voice. Anger forgotten he cautiously walked further into the room, listening as the capped boy continued to harmonize with the movie.

_'Cause I couldn't stand the pain  
And I  
Would be sad  
If I knew love was in vain_

Unfortunately, Lucas wasn't the best at being covert and shattered the moment by tripping over his own feet with a startled yelp. Instantly Ness ceased his singing, sitting up fully and looking over the back to find out who had interrupted his movie. Upon seeing Lucas however his eyes widened, emotions flashing across his face before he looked back at the movie and hunched his shoulders. "Watt do you want?

The blonde gulped, the dull tone of the other showing just how guilt ridden and hurt Ness was. When Lucas had walked in, he had envisioned himself yelling at Ness for lying and being a horrible friend in his righteous anger. Now though, seeing that the other psychic did, in fact, feel sorry for what he had done... "What, uh, are you watching?"

"A'coss seh Univahss. Musical wiss Beatos."

Ah. Right. Ness was a fan of the Beatles. It was a fact Lucas tended to forget, since Ness didn't obsess over the band. Nervously he got to his feet and walked over to the couch, pausing next to the unoccupied seat. "What... What's it about?"

"Lobe and wah." The words were muttered, Ness' voice cracking slightly. Glancing at his friend, Lucas couldn't help but wince at the tell tale signs of tears.

Ness had been crying again.

The blonde sighed, shyly grabbing the other's hand while trying to ignore the blush on his cheeks. "Ness, why didn't you tell me about the... eye thing?" Voice calm and gentle, despite the hurt squeezing at his heart. If Ness was obviously this upset, then he really did have a reason, right? Player, he hoped so...

The capped boy fidgeted, his own face red. "I-I al'eady told you..."

_"I... I-I like yo'a eyes..."_

If possible the blush grew worse, Lucas unconsciously tightening his grip on Ness' hand as he swallowed. "I... I don't really understand..."

Violet eyes, eyes that had been hidden from the blonde for as long as he could remember, looked to the side. "Back's seh only colla sat 'ides seh pupos. Sat's watt gibs away watt you'a gonna do. Seh pupos. Change colla dependin' on watt attack you use." Ness hugged his knees to his chest with his free hand, his other limp in Lucas' grip. "Back doesn' bit you. You-You look betta wiss boo eyes..." As he trailed off he buried his face in his knees, most likely too embarrassed to go on. Lucas could feel another emotion coming off the other though, one he was all too familiar with.

Fear.

His anger was now completely forgotten, understanding taking its place. Ness hadn't kept the secret out of pride and spite. Rather, he had kept it to prevent Lucas from losing something that the capped boy thought made the blonde what he was. While Lucas was still upset over it, he could at least see why Ness had done what he'd done. But why was Ness afraid now?

Because saying he liked Lucas' eyes was dangerously close to saying he liked him as more of a friend.

The realization hit hard, bringing with it the reality of what Jeff had told him. There was no doubt now that Ness felt the same thing Lucas felt. But this fear, so crippling and sickening that it made Lucas dizzy just experiencing it second hand, was proof that Jeff had been right. Ness was so terrified of admitting his feelings and possibly losing Lucas that he was never going to make that crucial first move from friends to more than friends.

"Ness..." His voice died, his own lack of confidence making him chicken out of making the move himself. As violet eyes filled with guilt and fear looked up at him he couldn't help but smile. "I... like your eyes too."

The blush that had been fading was renewed, Ness' mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Lucas repressed a giggle, placing his other hand over Ness' held one as he continued. "I'll... I'll forgive you, ok? B-But only if you st-stop wearing those contacts outside of battles. If-If I'm going to show my real eyes, y-you're going to show yours too."

"But-But I don' wanna..."

The blonde frowned. He didn't like that tone, the pain and reluctance. "Why?"

Ness looked away, finally returning the grip Lucas had on his hand. "No one 'eya likes my eyes. Sink seya feaky. Juss like ehbeeone at 'ome."

"They're not freaky though..."

"You know 'ow uncommon biolet eyes ah, Lucas? 'eally, 'eally uncommon. To seh point ob bein' ceepy and unnatuhal." The capped boy shivered, his hold tightening. "Like psionics. Ceepy and unnatuhal."

Lucas found his mind wandering to the night of the sleepover, to the discussion with Jeff. In all honesty, the idea of being rejected for having PSI was completely foreign when it was worshiped back in Tazimily. With a sigh he awkwardly pulled Ness into a hug, the other boy tensing in confusion. "You're not creepy. You're you. You always tell me not to care so much about what other's think. You need to do the same."

Ness remained silent before hugging back just as awkwardly, nuzzling the blonde's neck. "'m sah-ee fo'a not tellin'..."

"You're forgiven."

"You'a not mad, ah you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Can I at leass still weya seh contacts duhin' fights?"

"I suppose..."

"Sanks, Lucas."

Lucas simply nodded, continuing to hold Ness close.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys! You've been waiting for a long while, haven't you? Yeah, I'm sorry for such a long delay, I've been tired and a bit ill for the past few days. But... I'm back! And I come with the next chapter.

Reviews!

Roseal  
_The fluffyness! And sorry about the 'user thing!' I reviewed through my iPod that day, and my iPod has spell check and it thought the word I spelled was wrong so it "fixed" it. What I meant was upset! But seriously, awesome chapter! I can't wait for the next one!_

Well, you're in luck. Because here's the next chapter!

miscat  
_you trolled me. i was going "tell him, tell him!" then he said "I almost told him I like more than a friend" i almost shouted damn it and scared my cat._

_oh well, their great adventure will soon, yes?_

Yes, I was totally trolling you guys by Ness ALMOST admitting... only to chicken out immediately. Yes, Ness will be obvious with his feelings. No, he will not admit his love until Lucas does so first. Isn't it loverly?

As for the adventure... It starts now!

By the way, I'll be working on a new fic eventually. One that ties in with Sunda as a sort of prequel of sorts. What will it be about? You'll just have to wait and see (though of course TheMysticalQ gets first sneak peek, since she's my official Sunda idea bouncer ;P). In fact... Sunda is turning into the last fic in a sort of trilogy/story series in my head. Meaning you get to read the series in reverse. How awesome is that? xD

Nope. Still don't own anything. Just the emulators that I play the roms on.

* * *

The good news, Lucas figured, was that Red was finally getting his wish to see the legendary pokemon up close.

The trainer grinned widely, brown eyes wide in joy as he scanned the mansion's Suicune with his pokedex. The water beast barely noticed, dozing in the corner of the room and watching Ness pick through items carefully, its fellow beast Entei licking a massive paw beside it. If it had been any other day, Ness would no doubt be trying to coax the timid blonde into petting one of the legendary beasts while he had the chance.

However...

The bad news was that Ness had been given a mission by Master Hand himself and was dragging Lucas with him.

The blonde psychic whined, wringing the hem of his shirt as he once again gave the capped boy his best pout. "Can't you take someone else?"

Ness shook his head, inspecting a bob-omb carefully so as not to wake it before putting it back on the shelf. "Wanna go wiss you and Jeff." Quickly he cast a smile over his shoulder, trying to reassure his friend. "Besides, weya juss goin' to expo'a seh wo'ld to check somesin' out."

"I heard what he said, Ness! He said there's an intruder in this world! Only fighters given the green light by Master Hand are able to enter this world!"

The capped boy shrugged, opening a fridge built into one of the walls and shoving some boxes of food into his backpack. Judging by just how much he was packing, this wasn't going to be a day trip. "Eben 'uge disembodied 'ands make mistakes sometimes."

"What if the intruder's dangerous though? What if he attacks us?"

"You worry too much, Lucas," Red spoke up, not looking up from his pokedex. "You're a fighter right? Some little intruder wouldn't stand a chance against you and Ness."

("The trainer is right, little one.") Suicune glanced at him before closing its eyes. ("I have witness the battles you have fought. Listen to your friends, for they speak the truth.")

The beast's words were heartfelt, but Lucas found them hard to believe. There was no way out, though. Ness had made up is mind, and once Ness decided something, there was no chance of making him give up on his decission. Sighing in defeat he watched as Ness picked up a few pokeballs, inspecting them closely. "Sink we sould bin' some ob seh pokemon wiss?"

"Would you know how to fight with them?" Red asked, finally putting his pokedex back in his pocket and joining the psychics. "They do have more than one move, you know."

"I know. 'm juss wondahin' if it would be 'elbful."

"Well the new shipment did come in today. I was actually thinking of scanning them to add to my 'dex." The taller boy swiped one of the balls from Ness, an eager look crossing his face. "Permission to do just that, veteran?"

"Pehmissin' ganted!" Ness chirped, grinning widely. Red laughed before tossing the pokeball in the air, the device opening at the peak of its throw and a red light flashing.

"Torchic!"

Upon seeing the chick like pokemon, Lucas couldn't help but mentally countdown as Ness took in the sight and immediately gave what could only be called a squeal. "Chick!"

The pokedex was once again out, its owner chuckling at the now cooing psychic. "Torchic. The Chick Pokemon. Torchic sticks with its Trainer, following behind with unsteady steps. This Pokémon breathes fire of over 1,800 degrees F, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black. If attacked, it strikes back by spitting balls of fire it forms in its stomach. A Torchic dislikes darkness because it can't see its surroundings. Give it a hug! It will be as warm as a hot-water bottle. This Pokémon is covered all over by a fluffy coat of down."

The capped boy apparently took the entry rather literally, as he had picked up the chick and was now nuzzling it like one would a puppy or kitten. The sight brought a smile to Lucas' face, mind focusing on remembering the cute image that he just knew he would be seeing in some kind of dream in the near future...

His thoughts were interrupted as the tiny chick was shoved in his face, Ness giving him the one look that always made his heart flutter and his face warm up. Oh dear Player, he could already guess what the other was going to ask.

"Can we keeb it?"

Called it.

"Ness, it's the mansion's."

"'m a vetehan, so it may as well be mine too!"

"You already have a Mr. Saturn."

"But it's so cute, Lucas!"

"It's meant for battles, not being a pet."

"It can be bose!"

"Ness..."

"May as well give up, Lucas," Jeff stated from the doorway, adjusting a bag on his shoulders. "Besides, you know how much Ness likes chicks."

Lucas opened his mouth to argue before shutting it, glancing at the fuzzy ball of fluff in Ness' arms. Well, technically it was a chick. A fire breathing, one foot tall chick, but a chick nonetheless. And chicks were the best cure for the capped boy's homesickness...

He rolled his eyes, sighing once more in defeat. "Fine, as long as you ask Master Hand first."

"Sanks Lucas!"

The blonde merely hummed, looking away in hopes of hiding his blush. No such luck, judging by how Red chuckled before going back to checking the newer pokeballs. Jeff clearing his throat caught Lucas' attention however and he looked over at the other blonde, who was looking at Ness. "Are we all set then?"

"I sink so," Ness muttered, placing the Torchic down as he did one last rummage through his bag. Satisfied, he snapped it closed and slung it over his shoulder. "You got seh botto 'ockets?"

"As many as I can fit in my bag."

Ness nodded, turning to Lucas. "Gab some 'aht containas, ok? And some ob seh Maximum Tomatoes too."

Oh, right. Ness had dug out a spare bag for him to carry supplies as well. Lucas quickly retrieved the items and shoved them in his borrowed bag, joining Ness and Jeff near the door once he was done. "S-So I guess we're off?"

The violet eyed psychic nodded, chick pokemon once again in his arms.

xXx

"We're barely an hour into our mission and you've already gotten us lost."

Ness huffed, giving the suited blonde a glare as he continued walking. "'m not loss. Sis is seh way to seh Pain."

"Really now? Because you're doing that thing you do when you're lost, Diamond." Jeff's voice was teasing, a smirk dominating his face. "You know, the thing where you readjust your backpack constantly."

"It's 'ehby!"

"Sure it is."

Lucas by now had decided it was easiest to tune the two out, not having the heart to tell Ness that they should have gone right after making their way through the Ruined Zoo. Ness' decision to go left meant that the three boys were now on their way to the Ruins, a place way in the opposite direction they had decided to start their search. Unlike the zoo, this place held happier memories. Memories of finally standing up to Wario and saving Red from a large mechanical being all by himself. It was a place where Lucas had realized that he did, in fact, have some amount of confidence; It was just that his timid and fearful nature outshone it.

He glanced over at Ness, who was currently pouting while Jeff continued smirking. Sometimes, he wished that he could be like Ness, with his confidence on the outside and fears on the inside. In fact, it seemed like everyone the blonde met was that way, wearing their confidence on their sleeves for the whole world to see. They could easily hide their fears and worries. None of them would be caught dead crying in public.

"You know, if you had bothered getting a map from Master Hand, you wouldn't be lost."

"Damnit, Jeff! 'm not loss!"

"Are too. Right, Lucas?"

Lucas squeaked in surprise, stumbling briefly over his two feet. "Huh?"

"Tell him how we're going the wrong way."

"Weya not goin' seh 'ong way!"

"Um..." He wrung his hands, the intense stares from both males making him uncomfortable. Luckily he was saved from answering by the Torchic, who flailed its stubby wings as it tripped and fell flat on its face. Ness was quickly at its side, patting its head in an attempt to comfort...

The sight was simply adorable.

Lucas covered his mouth to stiffle a giggle, watching as the capped psychic cuddled the pokemon. Ness was always acting so tough around the mansion; It was only around Lucas and now Jeff when he dropped the act and acted like the softie he really was. Even then, he'd only dropped it recently around Lucas. The blonde couldn't help but feel privileged to see a side of Ness that very few others got to see unless something was wrong.

"You tell him yet?"

He silently thanked Jeff for ruining the moment, certain that his voice would have been dripping with sarcasm that he usually didn't possess had he said the words out loud. Instead he gulped, looking at his feet. "No..."

The boy in glasses shrugged. "There's no hurry. Just wondering." Slowly he smirked, voice lowering so Ness wouldn't be able to hear. "So... Is Diamond lost?"

"Why do you call him that?" Lucas muttered, trying desperately to change the subject. Luck seemed to be on his side today, as the suited blonde accepted the change in topic and hummed in thought.

"You ever hear of a red diamond?" Lucas shook his head. "They're rare. Sort of like Ness' eye color. I only remembered when he mentioned it to you and he doesn't seem to mind the nickname."

"Oh. Well that makes..." The timid psychic trailed off, his face steadily turning bright red. "You... You..."

"Yes. I happened to be looking for Ness and saw you talking to him. You're right, he should stop caring about what others think of him."

He gaped at his fellow blonde, mouth opening and closing as the words refused to come. Oh Player... Jeff had been watching the whole time!

"Watt ah you guys tahkin' about?"

Lucas jumped, head jerking to face Ness. The raven haired psychic was giving them a questioning look, head cocked slightly to the side as he held the Torchic close like one would a teddy bear. As Lucas was still speechless Jeff stepped forward, adjusting his glasses. "Nothing important. You still sure we aren't lost?"

Curiosity quickly changed back into anger. "Weya not loss!"

Jeff merely chuckled, starting to walk again. "Keep telling yourself that. Though from what you've told me, it probably doesn't matter which side we start from."

Ness didn't respond, instead starting to walk as well. Lucas followed suit, hurrying to Jeff's side. "Do... Do you have to tease him like that?"

A chuckle. "No, but it's fun."

"N-Not for Ness, it isn't."

"He enjoys it. Right Diamond?"

No answer.

Jeff blinked, glancing over his shoulder before stopping in his tracks. The air seemed to grow heavy as Lucas turned as well, heart thudding as a feeling of foreboding enveloped and suffocated him. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. Because Ness was trembling and staring into space, mouth quivering as he held the Torchic tight enough to make the pokemon chirp in protest. And that wasn't normal.

Swallowing the sudden lump in his throat, Lucas slowly stepped towards the other psychic. "Ness?"

"Stob..." Ness' voice was small, fading afterwards. Time slowed, then sped up again as the Torchic was dropped and Ness grabbed at his head. "Stob! Pease! It 'uhts!"

"Ness!" The two blondes rushed over just as the capped boy fell to his knees, catching him as he went limp.


End file.
